Yeouido Full Gospel Church Three Brothers' Mother Inheritance Dispute... Third Son Wins First Trial

"Cannot Say the Deceased Lacked Medical Competence"
Legal Battle Surrounding the Estate of Former Hansei University President Kim Seong-hye

Amid a legal battle among three brothers over the inheritance of the late Kim Seong-hye, former Hansae University president and wife of the late Pastor Cho Yong-gi, founder of Yoido Full Gospel Church, the court ruled in favor of the youngest son in the first trial.

According to the legal community on the 25th, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 24 (Presiding Judge Park Sa-rang) dismissed the lawsuit filed on the 18th by Pastor Cho's eldest son Cho Hee-jun and second son Cho Min-je, chairman of Kukmin Ilbo, against the youngest son Cho Seung-je, seeking to invalidate the will.

The late Kim Seong-hye, former president of Hansei University. [Image source=Yoido Full Gospel Church]

Earlier, Kim, the mother of the three sons, underwent brain tumor removal surgery in January 2020 and drafted a notarized will in May of the same year.

The will stated that the bank deposits would be divided equally among the three sons, the forest land (about 200 pyeong) in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, and an apartment in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province would go to the eldest son; the land (216 pyeong) and house in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and an apartment in Mapo-gu, Seoul would go to the second son; and the cash kept in a safe, half of the apartment shares in Mapo-gu, Seoul, and two cars would be inherited by the youngest son.

In addition, all securities account balances and bonds were to be inherited by the social welfare corporation 'Graceville' and the foundation 'Seonghye Scholarship Foundation,' both chaired by the youngest son.

However, after their mother passed away in February 2021, the eldest and second sons filed a lawsuit to invalidate the will. The plaintiffs reportedly claimed that "their mother’s ability to recognize people was impaired due to brain surgery at the time she made the will."

However, the court ruled that based on Kim’s memory ability, recall ability, and sentence formulation ability at the time of making the will, "it cannot be concluded that the deceased lacked the capacity to make a will."

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