South Korea will officially implement a landmark change to its inheritance laws on January 1, 2026. Known as the “Goo Hara Act,” the legislation allows judges to strip inheritance rights from biological parents who failed to raise or support their children.
The Supreme Court of Korea confirmed the timeline this week. The law marks a significant shift away from traditional legal codes that granted parents automatic claims to a child’s estate based solely on biological ties, regardless of their behavior.
A shift toward parental accountability
Under the new rules, courts can disqualify parents if they “significantly violated” their duty to care for a minor child. This includes cases of abandonment, severe neglect, or physical and emotional abuse.
The law provides two main ways to restrict these rights:
- By Will: A person can explicitly disinherit a neglectful parent through a notarised will.
- By Petition: If no will exists, other family members can ask a family court to revoke a parent’s status as a legal heir within six months of the child’s death.
The Supreme Court stated that the reform aims to promote fairness and “substantive justice,” ensuring that those who did not fulfill their responsibilities as parents do not benefit financially from a child’s tragic passing.
Inspired by a K-pop tragedy
The law is named after the late Goo Hara, a member of the K-pop group KARA, who died in 2019 at the age of 28. Her death sparked a national debate when her biological mother, who had not been in contact with her for 20 years, appeared at the funeral to claim half of the singer’s estate.
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Goo Hara’s brother, Goo Ho-in, led a years-long campaign for the change. He argued that it was fundamentally unfair for a parent who abandoned a nine-year-old child to return decades later to collect a windfall. While a court eventually gave him a larger share of the estate, the existing law at the time prevented him from blocking the mother entirely.
Broadening the scope to pensions
The reform extends beyond property and savings. Earlier this month, the National Assembly also passed changes to the National Pension Service Act.
From 2026, parents who abandoned their children will also be barred from claiming survivor pensions or lump-sum death benefits. Government officials described the move as a matter of “moral justice,” designed to restore public trust by ensuring that financial benefits are reserved for those who actually provided care and support.
