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Korea Herald
28-04-2025
- General
- Korea Herald
Court approves 'full adoption' of stepdaughter
Stepfather applies for family name change to prevent social prejudice and confusion for his adopted child A recent civil court ruling granted a South Korean man the right to fully adopt his China-born stepdaughter, changing her family name and place of family origin to avoid possible discrimination and confusion on the child's part. The Korea Legal Aid Corp. said Monday that the Cheongju District Court ruled in favor of a plaintiff who sought to give his surname to his stepdaughter. His wife, a North Korean defector, had given birth to the girl with a Chinese man during her time in China before moving to South Korea and marrying the plaintiff. Despite the daughter fully accepting the plaintiff as the father, she reportedly faced confusion after entering elementary school and noticing that she, unlike her classmates, had a different last name from her father. The father requested help from the KLAC, which represented him in the civil case. The court ruled that it is reasonable for the girl to be fully adopted for her emotional stability and well-being. It acknowledged the KLAC's claim that the child is satisfied with her current life, and that the family does not know her biological father's whereabouts or whether he is even alive. 'Full adoption' and how it works Full adoption, as it is known in the law, was incorporated into the Civil Act and came into effect in 2008 under a revision to Articles 908-2 through 908-8. It terminates all family relations and inheritance rights related to an adoptee's biological parent and establishes a complete familial relationship with the adoptive parent. The main change is that an adopted child is granted the same legal status as a biological child. Korea's adoption laws state that an adopted child is to maintain the biological father's family name and place of registration -- referring to the biological family's place of origin -- but these are changed to those of the adopted father upon full adoption. Under Article 781 of the Civil Act, children in Korea take the father's family name and place of registration unless the parents agreed at the time of marriage to have the child take the mother's name and place or when the biological father is unknown. Changes to a surname or place of registration can be granted by a court. To be granted full adoption, a child has to be a legal minor on the date of the court's ruling, and the parents must have been married for at least three years. Full adoption by a single parent had been impossible in the past, but the National Assembly in 2022 revised the law to allow single parents aged at least 25 to fully adopt a child. The biological parent must consent to the full adoption unless their whereabouts are unknown or their parental rights have been terminated by a court ruling. The system of full adoption was implemented to prevent adopted children from facing discrimination in matters of inheritance and broader societal prejudice. Surveys indicate that there remains significant prejudice against those who are adopted. A July 2024 survey by local outlet Hankook Research on 1,000 adults showed that 26 percent of respondents felt some discomfort with the idea of an adoptee marrying their child, with 14 percent saying they are uncomfortable with an adoptee befriending their child. Half of the respondents said they feel neither positively nor negatively toward adoption, with 42 percent saying they have positive feelings toward it. Although less than 10 percent said they personally have bad feelings toward adoption, 37 percent said they think Korean society as a whole does harbor negative feelings toward adoptees and adopted families.
Korea Herald
07-02-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Korea plans to revise Civil Act for 1st time since 1958
The South Korean government said Friday it plans to make its first comprehensive overhaul of the Civil Act in 67 years, modernizing the legal framework that has shaped citizens' lives and economic activities since its enactment in 1958. The legislation is the basis for civil law in Korea and covers property rights, family issues and contract law. The Civil Act has remained largely unchanged since its enactment, making it increasingly difficult to adequately reflect South Korea's evolving social, economic and cultural landscape, as well as global standards, the Justice Ministry said. 'A comprehensive revision of the Civil Act is an urgent national task that can no longer be postponed. We will revise the provisions of the general contract law that are related to legal transactions, default and liability for warranty," the ministry said Friday. "To address this, the revision will first focus on general contract law provisions, including legal acts, non-performance of obligations, and liability for security interests -- areas most closely tied to citizens' daily lives." Among the almost 200 provisions in the amendement, the ministry plans to implement a variable interest rate. The law currently states that the statutory interest rate on monies owed shall be 5 percent per annum, unless otherwise provided for by other law or agreed by the parties. But the ministry says using this rate as the default is not appropriate when the annual market interest remains at 2-3 percent. The measure will be initiated to flexibly respond to the economic situation and minimize unreasonable gains or losses for creditors and debtors, the ministry said. Article 390 of the Civil Act stipulates that damages may not be claimed when it is not possible for the other party to pay and where this is not due to that party's negligence or intentional actions. But the ministry plans to modify the provision on exemption from damages to remove the part that requires it to be 'not possible' to pay. This means that a lack of negligence or intent would be sufficient to prevent claims. It will expand the method of calculating compensation for damages as well. The Justice Ministry underscored that "The revision aims to create a Civil Act that is easy to understand and practical for the public." To that end, the ministry announced that the revised Civil Act will include new regulations to address issues that have been difficult to resolve under existing provisions. The ministry aims to align the Civil Act with global legislative trends and modernize its legal framework. By adopting clear and precise language, the comprehensive amendment also aims to improve accessibility and strengthen public trust in the law, it said. The ministry is scheduled to collect opinions from different organization, groups and individuals by March 19.
