[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] A revision to the Civil Act is being proposed to ensure that when minor children inherit property due to the death of their parents, they only inherit debts within the scope of the inherited property.
On the 9th, Song Ki-heon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced the introduction of the "Debt Inheritance Prevention Act (Partial Amendment to the Civil Act)".
Under the current inheritance law, if an heir does not express a separate intention within three months from the date they become aware of the death, they inherit both the inherited property and debts. Heirs can choose either "limited acceptance," which limits liability for inherited debts to the inherited property, or "renunciation of inheritance," which rejects the entire inheritance, but after three months, they must inherit both assets and debts.
The problem is that minor children may unknowingly inherit debts due to a lack of understanding of the inheritance process. In fact, in November last year, there was a case where a minor child who was six years old at the time of inheritance had to bear all the deceased's debts and later requested relief upon reaching adulthood. The Supreme Court at that time expressed the need for legislative improvement in its ruling.
This amendment includes provisions that even if a minor heir performs "simple acceptance," which means inheriting all property and debts, the effect of "limited acceptance" will apply to minor children, limiting their debt liability to the inherited property. In cases where the inherited debt exceeds the inherited property for minor heirs, they will automatically only inherit debts within the scope of the inherited property.
Representative Song stated, "We must ensure that the younger generation does not start on a tilted playing field due to the inheritance of debt," and added, "With the prompt passage of this amendment, we will create a society where the younger generation can be freed from their parents' debts and dream of hope."
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