'Unified Age System' to be Implemented on June 28 Next Year... Civil Act and Framework Act on Administration Promulgated

Age Calculated in Full Years... Under 1 Year Displayed in Months
Yoon Seok-yeol Government's 13th National Task

Iwan-gyu, Chief of the Legislation Office. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The Civil Act and the Framework Act on Administration, which calculate age based on the international age system (man-nai), have been promulgated.

On the 27th, the Ministry of Government Legislation (Director Lee Wan-gyu) announced that the "Unified Age Act," including partial amendments to the Civil Act and the Framework Act on Administration, which passed the National Assembly on the 8th, was promulgated on this day. The enforcement date is June 28 next year.

After June 28 next year, age will be calculated based on the international age system and expressed in years, and for infants under one year old, age may be expressed in months.

Article 158 of the Civil Act (Starting Point of Age), which previously only stipulated that "the date of birth is included in age calculation," has been amended to Article 158 (Calculation and Indication of Age) stating, "Age shall be calculated based on the date of birth using the international age system and expressed in years. However, in the case of those under one year old, age may be expressed in months."

The Framework Act on Administration newly establishes Article 7-2 (Calculation and Indication of Age in Administration), which states, "Unless otherwise specified in other laws or regulations, age related to administration shall be calculated based on the date of birth using the international age system and expressed in years. However, in the case of those under one year old, age may be expressed in months."

Article 6, Paragraph 1 of the Framework Act on Administration (Calculation of Periods Related to Administration) stipulates, "Regarding the calculation of periods related to administration, unless otherwise specified in this Act or other laws or regulations, the Civil Act shall apply mutatis mutandis."

The Ministry of Government Legislation stated, "From now on, unless there are special provisions, the principle of interpreting age indicated in laws, contracts, official documents, etc., as the international age will be established," adding, "Accordingly, unnecessary legal disputes related to age criteria are expected to be resolved."

The unification of the international age system, promoted to resolve social and administrative confusion and disputes caused by the coexistence of various age calculation methods such as the Korean age and international age, is a representative campaign pledge of President Yoon Seok-yeol and the 13th task among the 120 national tasks of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.

Director Lee said, "To complete the unification of the international age system, changes in the daily lives of the people are necessary," and added, "The Ministry of Government Legislation will closely cooperate with related ministries to conduct public awareness campaigns so that the culture of using the international age can be stably established in daily life, and will also make thorough preparations for revising laws and regulations related to the Korean age, which is scheduled to be promoted next year after collecting public opinions."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Government Legislation plans to hold a promulgation ceremony commemorating the promulgation of the "Unified Age Act" on this day and award the Director's Commendation to Senior Secretary Lee Se-ho (Office of National Assembly member Yoo Sang-beom of the People Power Party), Secretary Choi Jae-ho (Office of National Assembly member Jeong Jeom-sik of the People Power Party), and Secretary Lee Ji-baek (Office of National Assembly member Ki Dong-min of the Democratic Party), who contributed to the amendment of the law.

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