The "Guhara Act" is effectively dead... Biological mother, estranged for 20 years, to inherit

The funeral hall of the late Goo Hara set up at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital on November 25 last year. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] The so-called 'Goo Hara Act,' which was promoted by the late Goo Hara's older brother, has been effectively shelved.

On the 19th, the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee held the 1st Subcommittee on Bill Review and decided to 'continue review' on five proposed amendments to the Civil Act submitted that day.

The committee members attending the review concluded that the 'Goo Hara Act,' which prevents inheritance if the duty of support is neglected, requires a comprehensive review of the inheritance system. Considering that this subcommittee meeting was the last session of the 20th National Assembly, these bills are effectively considered to have failed.

The 'Goo Hara Act' was also included in the list of Civil Act amendment petitions on the 29th of last month but failed to pass the bill subcommittee.

The 'Goo Hara Act' was a legislative petition directly submitted by Goo Hara's older brother, Goo Ho-in, and was proposed after obtaining over 100,000 signatures, meeting the legislative petition requirements.

The bill's main point is to enact legislative measures to prevent the inheritance of property left under Goo's name by his biological mother, who had run away over 20 years ago and never returned, arguing that it is unfair. The core content is to add 'cases where the duty of support to direct ascendants or descendants has been grossly neglected' as a disqualification for inheritance under the current Civil Act.

Under the current Civil Act, if a person dies without a spouse or descendants, the biological parents become the heirs. Therefore, Goo Hara's property is inherited equally by her biological father and mother. It is known that the biological father transferred his share to Goo Hara's older brother.

Earlier, in February, Goo filed a lawsuit requesting a partition judgment of the inheritance property against his biological mother, Ms. Song.

At that time, Goo claimed, "Goo Hara's biological mother left home when Goo Hara was nine years old. She is not entitled to Goo Hara's property."

Goo's legal representative also explained, "Goo was deeply shocked by the unreasonable demands from the biological mother, who had no role during the late Goo Hara's lifetime, and ultimately filed a petition for partition judgment of the inheritance property against her. From the perspective of humanity and universal justice, it is more appropriate to express deep condolences for the late Goo Hara and to waive the inheritance share rather than assert one's own inheritance portion."

Meanwhile, Goo Hara passed away on November 24th last year at the age of 28.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.