Children go to school in Jangseong County, South Jeolla Province, on June 7, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 6 (Korea Bizwire) — The Ministry of Justice on Tuesday gave advance notice of a revision to the civil law that allow juveniles to choose whether or not they will inherit their parents’ legacy, with the aim of preventing them from inheriting exorbitant debt at a young age.
The current civil law has been allowing debt to be inherited by juvenile representatives even if the debt exceeds the amount of wealth.
Unless he/she requests a limited recognition or renunciates inheritance within a designated period, all of the inheritance, including the debt, will be transferred to the juvenile representative.
Experts have been raising concerns that it is too brutal for a juvenile to carry the debts of his/her parents only because he/she hasn’t taken any legal actions in due time.
They have also pointed out that the practice infringes upon the juvenile’s right to self-determination and property rights.
In response, the ministry has taken action to revise a law that will allow juveniles to request a limited recognition of their inheritance, within 6 months from the day of being aware of the fact that the debt to be inherited exceeds the property to be inherited after they become legal adults.
The successor may grant a limited recognition to cover the debt within the scope of the inherited property.
In addition, to expand the scope of protection for juvenile successors, a retroactive provision has been added to cover those whose inheritance process took place before the new amendment’s implementation.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
