Appeared After 54 Years, Sweeping Son's House and Compensation... Also Involving Daughter and Son-in-Law from Remarried Family

Proposed Following the 2020 Goo Hara Incident but Discarded
Similar Bills Also Fail to Pass the National Assembly and Remain Stalled

The so-called 'Goo Hara Act' (partial amendment to the Civil Act, primarily proposed by Seo Young-kyo of the Democratic Party of Korea), which restricts parents who have failed to fulfill their support obligations from inheriting the property of their deceased children, is currently pending in the National Assembly. Voices calling for its swift passage are emerging once again.

The Goo Hara Act originated in November 2019 when singer Goo Hara passed away, and her biological mother, who had been out of contact for 20 years, suddenly appeared demanding inheritance. This incident sparked national outrage, and in March 2020, a petition was posted on the National Assembly bulletin board, bringing the issue into public debate.

A legislative petition titled ‘Adding cases of gross neglect of support obligations to direct ascendants or descendants as grounds for disqualification from inheritance and easing the requirements for recognition of contribution shares in the Civil Act amendment’ gained 100,000 signatures by April and was referred to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, but it failed to pass the 20th National Assembly and was discarded.

On November 10 last year, at the National Assembly Communication Office, Kang Hyeon (second from left), the late Kang Han-eol's sister, and Kang Ho-in (second from right), the late Goo Ha-ra's brother, attended a press conference urging the passage of the Goo Ha-ra Act.

Source: Woman Times (http://www.womentimes.co.kr) [Image source=Yonhap News]

While the Goo Hara Act failed to pass, second and third Goo Hara cases occurred. First, the widely known ‘Jeonbuk version of Goo Hara’ case emerged. When firefighter Kang Han-eol died in the line of duty, his biological mother, who appeared after 32 years, tried to claim survivor benefits, provoking public anger.

Recently, there was also a case where a biological mother appeared after 54 years to claim her missing son’s insurance money. In January 2021, Kim Jong-an (then 56), who worked as a crew member off the coast of Geoje, Gyeongnam, went missing during a storm while on a fishing boat. His biological mother, Ms. A, appeared and asserted exclusive inheritance rights.

Ms. A abandoned Kim Jong-an and his two younger siblings when he was two years old in 1967 and left home. However, upon hearing of her son’s disappearance and the large insurance payout, she reappeared after 54 years. Ms. A was not alone; her newly formed family, including children and son-in-law, joined forces to collect 50 million won in consolation money from the shipping company and changed the ownership of Kim Jong-an’s house and bank accounts to her name.

In response, Kim Jong-an’s older sister, Kim Jong-seon (61), appealed against the injustice of the law. Kim Jong-seon said, “Even if the compensation is received, it should go to the aunt and grandmother who raised us for 54 years instead of our mother,” and lamented, “Not a single pair of socks or candy was ever sent, and now the biological mother is claiming the value of her child’s life? is this law and justice?”

The reason such cases are possible lies in Article 1004 of the Civil Act concerning 'inheritance order.' The order of inheritance is: first priority to spouse and direct descendants (children, grandchildren, etc.), second priority to spouse and direct ascendants (parents, grandparents, etc.), and third priority to siblings.

On the morning of the 9th, at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, during a press conference urging the passage of the Gu Hara Act and the Seonwon Gu Hara Act, Kim Jong-an's elder sister, Kim Jong-seon (second from the right), who went missing while on a fishing boat, is speaking.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

At the time of disappearance, Kim Jong-an had a woman with whom he maintained a de facto marital relationship for six years, but such a relationship does not grant inheritance rights. Since they had no children, Ms. A, as the second priority, became the legal heir. Kim Jong-seon and others were pushed to a lower priority and legally cannot receive any inheritance unless Ms. A divides it.

Of course, there have been similar attempts like the Goo Hara Act. In the 21st National Assembly, the ‘Goo Hara Act’ was reintroduced. On June 2, 2020, Representative Seo Young-kyo and 50 others proposed an amendment to the Civil Act. It added ‘a person who is a direct ascendant of the decedent and has grossly neglected the duty of support to the decedent’ to the disqualification grounds for inheritance. This means excluding parents who did not support their children from inheriting.

However, whether the bill will pass within this year remains uncertain. A National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee official said, “There is an opinion to specify the period of the support obligation, and discussions are ongoing. There are still disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties, so coordination is underway.”

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