South Korean Supreme Court Rules New Inheritance Law Applies Retroactively

South Korea's Supreme Court has determined that a recent law acknowledging parental contributions in inheritance cases must be applied retroactively to lawsuits that were already in progress. This decision impacts how inherited assets are distributed when some heirs have significantly contributed to the deceased's well-being or estate.

The inheritance system, known as 'yuryubun,' reserves a minimum legal portion of an estate for heirs, regardless of the deceased's will or lifetime gifts. Previously, even heirs who had supported parents for extended periods or contributed to their wealth could be forced to share their inheritance under this system.

This issue led to a Constitutional Court ruling in April 2024, which declared the previous law unconstitutional for its unfairness to contributing heirs. Subsequently, in March 2024, the Civil Act was amended to exclude contributions made by an heir, such as special support or assistance in maintaining or increasing the deceased's assets, from being considered part of their special inheritance.

The Supreme Court's latest judgment involved a case where siblings sued another sibling who had received two apartments as a lifetime gift from their father. The lower courts had included these apartments in the calculation of the inheritance portion. However, the Supreme Court remanded the case, stating that the new law, which removes unconstitutional aspects of the old provision, should apply because the lawsuit was ongoing when the Constitutional Court made its decision.