Seoul Social Welfare Public Interest Law Center, Civil Law Amendment Forum on 'Preventing Debt Inheritance Among Minors'

Joint Comparative Debate on Bills Proposed in the National Assembly by Assemblymen Song Giheon and Choi Gisang

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the afternoon of the 30th, the Seoul Social Welfare Public Interest Law Center of the Seoul Welfare Foundation, jointly with the offices of National Assembly members Song Gi-heon and Choi Gi-sang, will hold a discussion titled “The Necessity and Direction of Civil Law Amendments to Prevent Debt Inheritance by Minors” via an online live broadcast.

There have been ongoing criticisms regarding the reality that minors, who cannot independently apply for limited approval or renunciation of inheritance, may inherit their parents' debts despite having no fault of their own. In this context, the Supreme Court ruled by majority opinion that “under the current interpretation of civil law, once a minor heir inherits the parents' debt while still a minor, they cannot reverse it after reaching adulthood.” Additionally, a concurring opinion stated, “Although the current interpretation of civil law inevitably leads to the majority opinion’s conclusion, it is legislatively desirable to consider protecting heirs who were minors at the time of inheritance from difficulties caused by inherited debts.”

Since the Supreme Court ruling, four partial amendments to the Civil Act have been proposed and are currently pending in the National Assembly. This discussion was organized by the Public Interest Law Center, which provides free legal support to prevent inheritance of debt by children and adolescents, based on the awareness that legislative supplementation is necessary to prevent practical harm to minor heirs. The center proposed co-hosting the event with the offices of National Assembly members Song Gi-heon and Choi Gi-sang, who are the principal sponsors of the respective civil law amendment bills and members of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, resulting in the event’s realization.

The first presenter of the discussion, lawyer Jeon Ga-young, will present the necessity of civil law amendments focusing on specific real cases, while the second presenter, lawyer Sung Yoo-jin from the Public Interest Law Center, will analyze the key issues of the four proposed bills and present appropriate directions for amendment.

Following them, discussants will include Officer Lee Ha-jeong (Judicial Support Office, Court Administration), Researcher Kim Seong-ho (National Assembly Legislative Research Office), Lawyer Jeon Min-kyung (Child Rights Protection Agency), and Professor Choi Seong-gyeong (Dankook University Law School).

The Seoul Social Welfare Public Interest Law Center was established in July 2014 within the Seoul Welfare Foundation to provide legal counseling, public interest litigation, public interest legislation, and system improvements in the field of social security for Seoul citizens. Currently, a total of nine staff members work there, including five lawyers, one of whom is the center director, and three social workers. The center is located within Seoul Welfare Town in Gongdeok-dong, Mapo-gu.

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