"Goo Hara Act" Unable To Be Passed Before 20th National Assembly's Last Sessions, Lawyer Shares Plans

The lawyer who is working with Goo Hara’s brother Goo Ho In on creating an act to change inheritance laws has clarified the status of their work.

After the late singer’s death, her family has been in a legal dispute after her mother returned to claim half of Goo Hara’s inheritance, despite having abandoned the two children when they were young. In response, Goo Ho In filed a lawsuit against their mother to request an evaluation of the inheritance division that would take into consideration how their mother was absent for most of their lives and had given up parental rights and custody.

Inspired by the difficulties his family is facing, Goo Ho In also called for the establishment of a “Goo Hara Act” that would change inheritance laws so that families in the future will not suffer from the same tragedy that theirs is going through.

Due to current law, even parents who did not personally raise or provide for their children are able to receive their inheritance, except in extremely rare cases such as murder or the falsification of a will. This has meant that parents who abandoned their children can return and claim their inheritance after their death. The “Goo Hara Act” is calling for the expansion of the reasons for disqualification to an inheritance so that it includes those who are substantially negligent of their duties to support direct ancestors or direct descendants.

After a petition supporting the act reached 100,000 signatures, it was submitted to the National Assembly.

On May 19, the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee looked over amendments to civil law that had been submitted for evaluation, and they came to the decision that five of them should continue to be reviewed. The assembly members who took part in the meeting agreed that the entire inheritance system requires review.

Although the decision means in theory that the evaluation of the act should continue, unfortunately this was the last meeting of the 20th National Assembly, so those bills have essentially been scrapped.

On May 20, lawyer Noh Jong Eon clarified what this means for the “Goo Hara Act” he has been working on with Goo Ho In.

“It didn’t get passed by the National Assembly this time, but this isn’t the end,” he stated. “We’ll improve some parts and work hard to get it passed in the National Assembly.”

He went on to say, “The National Assembly currently has too many bills pending, and they weren’t able to give it even a proper evaluation.” He said that it seemed there wasn’t enough time for the act to go through the evaluation process in order for it to be passed.

“Assembly member Seo Young Gyo of the Democratic Party of Korea also already submitted an amendment to the National Assembly that’s similar to the ‘Goo Hara Act,'” he said. “We’re continuing to work on improving the amendment prepared by Goo Ho In and myself together with the amendment prepared by the assembly member, and we’re preparing it so that it can be passed by the National Assembly.”

During an interview with MBC on May 21, Goo Ho In was asked to give a message to the members of the National Assembly. He shared, “Although I am upset that it didn’t pass, I hope that good bills will be passed in the 21st National Assembly.”

Goo Ho In and lawyer Noh Jong Eon previously explained that the “Goo Hara Act” was created to help families in the future and it will not be applicable to the family’s own case. During their interview with MBC, Noh Jong Eon confirmed that the lawsuit about the family’s case is still ongoing.

Source (1) (2) (3) (4)