Legislative Notice of Civil Act Amendment Bill to Codify Personality Rights

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Personality rights are protected by law like property rights

On the 5th, the Ministry of Justice announced that it has publicly notified a revision to the Civil Act that codifies personality rights and the right to claim exclusion and prevention of infringement of those personality rights.

The amendment newly establishes Article 3-2, Paragraph 1 of the Civil Act, defining personality rights as "rights concerning a person's life, body, health, freedom, honor, privacy, reputation, portrait, personal information, and other personal interests." Article 3-2, Paragraph 2 of the Civil Act is expected to include provisions allowing claims to stop ongoing infringements of personality rights or, if necessary, to prevent such infringements in advance. Since corporations, not just natural persons, can also be subjects of personality rights, corresponding application provisions will be prepared. The Ministry of Justice explained, "Recently, various infringements of personal interests have occurred in our society, such as illegal recordings and filming, workplace bullying, school violence, and digital sex crimes, and legal disputes have rapidly increased. Therefore, we decided to promote the codification of personality rights."

Personality rights refer to rights related to a person's life, body, health, freedom, honor, portrait, privacy, and other personal interests. Until now, there were no provisions regarding personality rights in our Civil Act. They have only been recognized in a limited way through Supreme Court precedents related to damages from media reports since the 1980s, discriminatory treatment of company employees, and constitutional complaints to the Constitutional Court. A Ministry of Justice official said, "Through this amendment, ordinary citizens will clearly recognize that personality rights are rights protected by law just like existing property rights," and added, "Effective remedies to resolve situations where personality rights are infringed or at risk of being infringed will also be secured."

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