Inheritance Disputes Are Not Just a Story of Chaebol Families

Published 26 Feb.2024 13:09(KST)

Disputes Triple Over 10 Years as Number of Asset Owners Increases

The so-called 'inheritance property disputes,' which involve conflicts over the fairness of property distribution inherited from parents or others, are steadily increasing.

Inheritance disputes within chaebol families never cease. At LG Group, a case is ongoing where the mother and younger sister have filed a lawsuit against Chairman Koo Kwang-mo to reclaim inheritance. There is also a case where Jung Tae-young, the eldest son of the founder of Jongno Academy and Vice Chairman of Hyundai Card and Hyundai Commerce, filed a statutory share return lawsuit against his two younger siblings, demanding a portion of the inheritance left by his biological mother. A statutory share lawsuit involving BYC is also underway.

[Image source=Beopryul Newspaper]

Such disputes are frequent even in ordinary families. For example, Mr. A, who had no spouse or children, wrote a handwritten document bequeathing his entire estate to a nephew, only for another nephew to file a lawsuit to invalidate the will, claiming the handwritten document was null and void. Recently, there has been a ruling stating that when parents transfer real estate ownership to their children during their lifetime and pay the gift tax on their behalf, only the difference should be considered a special benefit during inheritance property division, reflecting growing public interest in inheritance property division cases.

[Image source=Beomryul Newspaper]

According to the Judicial Yearbook, the number of cases filed for 'Disposition on the Division of Inherited Property' (family non-contentious cases) by courts has steadily increased: △771 cases in 2014 △1008 in 2015 △1223 in 2016 △1403 in 2017 △1710 in 2018 △1887 in 2019 △2095 in 2020 △2379 in 2021 △2776 in 2022. A disposition on the division of inherited property refers to cases where the inherited property must be divided into each heir's property, and the court issues a disposition rather than proceeding through litigation.

[Image source=Beomryul Newspaper]

Similarly, the trend in filing 'Statutory Share Return Claims' (civil lawsuits), which guarantee a minimum inheritance share to family members, shows a similar increase. According to the Court Administration Office, the number of civil main cases (first trial) filed with the courts since 2012 were △590 in 2012 △663 in 2013 △813 in 2014 △907 in 2015 △1096 in 2016 △1233 in 2017 △1373 in 2018 △1512 in 2019 △1447 in 2020 △1702 in 2021 △1872 in 2022, more than tripling over about ten years.

Additionally, cases related to inheritance such as renunciation of inheritance, limited approval of inheritance, and other inheritance-related cases (family non-contentious) filed with courts have also gradually increased: △37,002 cases in 2014 △38,431 in 2015 △39,125 in 2016 △38,440 in 2017 △42,579 in 2018 △43,799 in 2019 △44,927 in 2020 △46,496 in 2021 △51,626 in 2022. 'Limited approval' refers to a declaration by an heir to accept inheritance on the condition of repaying the deceased's debts and legacies up to the value of the inherited property, while 'renunciation of inheritance' means a declaration by an heir to extinguish the effect of inheritance. Other inheritance-related cases are classified as 'other inheritance.'

The causes of these changes include the increase in inheritance occurrences as the generation with a large population grows older, and a shift from the traditionally patriarchal perspective on inheritance to a more property law-oriented viewpoint nowadays.

Yang Sora (44, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 37), a lawyer at the Hwawoo Law Firm, said, "Even those who are not high-net-worth individuals are showing increased interest in inheritance, with more clients inquiring every year and related disputes also increasing. Many are preparing in advance, starting from wills to pre-calculations of statutory shares."

Park Su-yeon, Han Soo-hyun, Legal Times reporters