Goo Hara Act will be enforced in 2026, official details of the law are revealed

Catching up on some older news that has now been updated, after a bunch of false starts and celebrations due to (quite frankly) incompetent reporting from so-called international news outlets, the Goo Hara Act was finally passed back in August of last year. And now, from January 1 of this year, the act that changes inheritance law and parental accountability will officially go into effect.

The announcement was made by the Supreme Court of Korea on December 30 as part of its 2026 Judicial Reform Outlook Report, which outlines key legal and institutional changes scheduled for the first half of next year.
Formally an amendment to the Civil Code, the Goo Hara Act allows courts to restrict or revoke inheritance rights of parents who failed to fulfill their child-rearing obligations or committed abuse or serious crimes against their children. Under the new law, parents who abandoned, severely neglected, or mistreated their minor children may no longer automatically inherit their assets in the event of the child’s death.

In terms of implementation, disinheritance may be specified in a will, and even if none exists, the family can petition the court after death.

The deceased may explicitly state their intention to disinherit that parent through a notarized will. The executor of the will can then file a petition with the Family Court to confirm the loss of inheritance rights. Even in cases where no will exists, co-heirs are permitted to petition the Family Court within six months of learning that a parent who qualifies for disinheritance has become a legal heir.

The Supreme Court said the purpose of the law is “to correct a long-standing legal imbalance that allowed parents who abandoned or abused their children to inherit without restriction“.

This reminds me to tell you all to get wills done within your family. If you have assets to your name, go get one. I cannot stress how difficult it is to handle that financial and legal bullshit while grieving, and that’s even if the deceased had their shit together. The last thing you want is to end up in arbitration or probate court and have everything drag out even longer. People say heartbreak is the reason spouses or relatives die after the passing of a loved one, and maybe that’s part of it, but I’d bet a bigger reason is having to deal with the hilarious amount of increased stress from dealing with all the bullshit that follows.