“Goo Ha-ra Act” Finally Passed, Parents Who Abandoned Their Children Now Can’t Inherit Their Property
The so-called "Goo Ha-ra Act" was passed by the subcommittee of the Korean National Assembly.
The “Goo Ha-ra Act” (Amendment to Civil Law) passed the Legislation Review Subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on May 7th.
The Goo Ha-ra Act stipulates that one’s serious violations of the obligation to support the minor, or serious criminal acts or gross unfair treatment to his/her spouse or direct descendants, are grounds for the loss of their inheritance rights when their spouse or direct descendants pass away.
It was called the “Goo Ha-ra Act” as Goo Ki-in, the brother of the late singer Goo Ha-ra who died in 2019, petitioned for legislation, claiming, “My biological mother, who abandoned the young Goo Ha-ra and ran away from home, wants to receive half of her inherited property after her death.”
The Goo Hara Act was also proposed by the 20th National Assembly, but it was dismissed due to the expiration of its term without proper discussion. The Ministry of Justice later submitted a related bill to the National Assembly in June 2022, and it is on the verge of passing the bill in about two years.
The Constitutional Court ruled last month that the so-called Goo Hara Act should be passed. The amendment established a “declaration system for loss of inheritance rights” that takes away biological parents’ inheritance rights if they do not fulfill their parenting obligations or commit crimes such as abuse.
The amendment will take effect in January 2026 if it passes the plenary session of the Judiciary Committee and the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 28th.
Meanwhile, in April 2020, more than 100,000 people signed in the petition for the “Goo Ha-ra Act.”
Source: daum
