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Interview with attorneys Park Gyu-seok & Yang Gi-yeon of Daeryun Law Firm- To overturn a non-referral decision, you ultimately have to fight the 'police record'... "Evidence has a golden time too"- Shift to an era of building evidence from the very start of the investigation: "Not just disputing, but intervening is required" Under the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act that passed the National Assembly plenary session last month, prosecutors' direct investigation authority is set to be fully abolished this coming October. The structure in which prosecutors directly conducted supplementary investigations disappears, changing to a method of 'requesting' supplementary investigation from judicial police officers. However, even if a complainant or victim files an objection to the police's non-referral decision, that judgment inevitably starts from the records and evidence already created at the police investigation stage.Since the procedure by which a prosecutor directly examines a case and finds evidence has essentially disappeared, the common analysis in the legal community is that the conclusion of a case is determined at the police investigation stage. We met with attorney Park Gyu-seok of Daeryun Law Firm, who has prosecutorial experience and has handled many criminal cases in practice, and attorney Yang Gi-yeon, who leads the Daeryun Evidence Investigation Center, to hear about the defense counsel's role and evidence-securing strategies in the changing investigation environment.Attorney Park Gyu-seok said the direction of the early investigation has become even more important. Attorney Park said, "Even though the objection system exists, its success or failure ultimately depends on how precisely you rebut the non-referral reasoning statement and how much of the evidence missed early on you can supplement," adding, "Unlike the past, when cases were re-contested at the prosecution stage, the center of gravity of defense is now shifting toward intervening at the very moment the police investigation record is being created."So how does what the defense counsel actually does for a party facing a police investigation change? Attorney Park Gyu-seok explained, "You first check the complaint or the alleged facts to pinpoint the issues, secure as much objective material related to the case as possible before questioning, and, if necessary, line up witnesses who will give favorable statements in advance," adding, "Taking preservation measures for materials that easily disappear—like CCTV, messenger records, and call logs—and organizing in advance the questions and answers likely to come up in the actual questioning to prepare the client is what defense counsel must do before questioning." He also advised that an objection to a non-referral decision should be drafted in accordance with the form prescribed by the Police Investigation Rules so that it can work favorably in acceptance and subsequent response.Attorney Park Gyu-seok particularly emphasized that, amid such change, evidence has an 'expiration date.' He said, "CCTV is overwritten with other footage in as little as two weeks and at most within about a month, dashcams also have limited storage, and mobile phone messages or call logs can likewise be difficult to preserve depending on the other party or the carrier," adding, "Even witnesses' memories fade over time, so, in effect, before disputing legal principles, the fight against time begins first."Attorney Yang Gi-yeon likewise said, "The first thing clients who have been reported or accused ask in a consultation is 'Is the CCTV still there?'," adding, "Not only CCTV but also dashcams, entry records, card payment histories, location information, messenger and email, original photos and videos, hospital treatment records, witness statements, and even taxi or delivery order records—the scope of materials to secure before they disappear is far broader than one might think."He continued, "You must request cooperation from the building management office or nearby shops to receive materials in the form of original files, and clearly record the circumstances of acquisition and their originality, so that they carry weight as evidence when later submitted to the investigative agency," and "If the party finds it difficult to secure the materials directly or there is a possibility they will soon be deleted, we also review the procedure of applying to the court for evidence preservation to compel that the materials are not arbitrarily discarded."The two attorneys then said that raising an objection to investigation and filing an objection to a decision need to be examined separately. Attorney Yang said, "If, after an investigation has begun, no substantive investigation such as evidence examination proceeds for six months or more without justifiable reason, the complainant and others can raise an 'objection to the investigation,'" adding, "The remedy procedure for a non-referral is an 'objection to the decision,' and one must bear in mind that it has a three-month limit."He also emphasized the importance of evidence preservation. This is a procedure whereby, when there is a concern that evidence will disappear if one waits for the formal procedures of the investigative agency or court, one requests the judge to examine the evidence in advance and preserve the result. According to attorney Yang, merely claiming to have 'seen the CCTV' and securing the material through legal procedure to publicly record its existence and content differ in their very probative force in later litigation. He said, "The more the material holder refuses to cooperate or the more imminent the deletion time, the more swiftly one must decide even on filing for evidence preservation."Attorney Yang Gi-yeon cited as an actual example the case of a client who, after drinking with acquaintances, was reported on the spot for indecent assault by force. He said, "The CCTV the police initially secured only captured up to the scene of the party leaving the bar," adding, "Our Daeryun Evidence Investigation Center, which received the urgent request, additionally secured the CCTV of the alley between the two locations before the footage was deleted, and since that footage fully captured the movement path before and after the alleged time of harm, we were ultimately able to conclude the case with a non-referral."Attorney Park Gyu-seok then said this case starkly illustrates the current investigation environment in which prosecutors' direct investigation authority has been abolished. He emphasized, "It is a case where whether or not you secured one more piece of CCTV in the initial response completely changed the conclusion of the case," and "Securing evidence—whether physical evidence or statements—before it disappears will be the most important process in preparing for the new 'investigation new normal.'" [Read Full Article] With the Prosecution–Police Investigation Power Realignment, Attorneys Face a 'New Normal' Too... "The Starting Point of Judgment Must Be Built at the Investigation Stage" (Go to)

A father in his 40s who was referred on child abuse charges for pushing his son's body while disciplining him for refusing to go to school received a non-indictment decision.According to the legal community on the 25th, the Goyang Branch of the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office issued a non-indictment decision on the 6th, for insufficient evidence, for Mr. A, a man in his 40s who had been suspected of violating the Child Welfare Act (child abuse).Mr. A was charged with committing physical abuse by pushing his son B's body twice with his hands during a scuffle on the street in June, when B refused to go to school.However, Mr. A denied the charge, saying his son had become agitated and swung his fists, and that he had merely pushed the boy's body to create distance, with no intent to commit physical abuse.The prosecution accepted Mr. A's argument. Analysis of on-site CCTV confirmed the son lunging at and hitting Mr. A.The prosecution judged that Mr. A's act of pushing his son could not be regarded as assault of a degree unacceptable by social norms, and was closer to a justifiable act or self-defense. It also took into account that the son suffered no external injury and that there was no circumstance indicating Mr. A had assaulted his son before.Attorney Jeon Hyo-cheol of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, said, "For an act of physical abuse under the Child Welfare Act to be established, the exercise of physical force to a degree harming the child's health and development—beyond mere physical contact—must be recognized," and "Thanks to swiftly securing on-site footage containing the substantive truth through means such as a request for disclosure of public illegal parking enforcement CCTV information, we were able to objectively prove that Mr. A had only responded passively and defensively." Reporter Jeong Cheol-uk [Read Full Article] Man in His 40s Referred for 'Child Abuse' After Pushing Son Who Threw a Tantrum Saying "I Won't Go to School" Not Indicted (Go to)

-Legal column by attorney Byun Gwan-hoon of Daeryun LLC If, while running a shop, an identical type of business newly opens right next door or on the same floor, the existing merchant faces great bewilderment along with business losses. They protest to block the entry of a duplicate business type within the commercial building, but the new store owner often counters with reasons such as "I wasn't there when that building rule was made" or "there was no clause restricting business types in the lease contract." So must the existing merchant simply endure the encroachment on their commercial territory because there was no specific agreement or contract? To put the conclusion first, the law provides clear standards protecting the legitimate rights of existing tenants in such situations. A business-type restriction agreement established during the sale of the commercial building goes beyond a private promise among merchants; it carries the property value of a kind of exclusive operating right granted to that store. According to Supreme Court precedents and others, those who purchased units in a commercial building are, absent special circumstances, deemed to have given implied consent to mutually accept and comply with business-type restriction obligations. In particular, since this is unified with and succeeds along with the store's rights, it applies without exception to a transferee who newly purchases a store or a new tenant who leases one. Therefore, even if the business-type restriction clause was omitted from the new lease contract, if the new occupant forcibly runs the same type of business, the existing merchant has the right to seek an injunction against the business through the court.Moreover, even if the builder did not explicitly designate the business type of each individual store at the time of the initial sale, there remains a way for the existing merchant's rights to be protected. This is because, after occupancy, if the management body composed of all the commercial building owners enacts a business-type restriction management rule satisfying the resolution quorum stipulated by the Act on Ownership and Management of Condominium Buildings, this too has sufficient legal binding force. Since such a rule is connected to the owners' core property rights, in order to later lift or change the restriction, the strict agreement of the true owners holding each store—that is, the individual store owners—is essential. The effect of the commercial building rule does not disappear simply because a new tenant arbitrarily ignores it or the tenants tacitly overlook it among themselves.In fact, among the cases I have handled, there was a case in which a merchant who had long operated a store sought and was recognized an injunction against a new occupant who arrived later and began operating the same type of business. At the time, the new occupant countered that they had not even occupied the building when the building's self-governing rule was made and had never signed in agreement to that rule, so its effect did not apply to them. However, the court ruled in favor of the existing merchant. It held that even without the builder's initial designation, a management rule enacted through lawful procedures and quorum has enforceability against the entire commercial building. It also specified that even a new occupant who did not participate in enacting the rule has an obligation to comply with the existing rule once they have entered the building, thereby recognizing the existing merchant's rights.So how should a merchant facing such a situation respond? Rather than getting into emotional squabbles with the new store owner, they should mount a legal response based on objective grounds. First, it is important to secure documents proving that a business-type restriction agreement exists for the commercial building and its specific scope of protection, such as the commercial building management body's rules or the initial sale contract. After that, they can collect objective materials (on-site photos, receipts, lists of items sold, etc.) showing that the new store's items handled and manner of business substantially overlap with their own business type, and file for a provisional injunction against the business with the court. Furthermore, if there is already damage such as decreased sales due to the unlawful encroachment on their commercial territory, they can also pursue a claim for damages in parallel. Since encroachment on commercial territory is an important matter that directly leads to business losses, the wise approach is to respond systematically from the early stage of the matter with the assistance of a legal expert well-versed in the relevant legal principles, and thereby have one's legitimate rights protected. Reporter Lee Dong-o (canon35@mt.co.kr) [Read Full Article] Disputes over Same-Category Businesses Within a Commercial Building: The Binding Force of Business-Type Restrictions and How Existing Merchants Can Respond (Go to)

Strengthening fair trade and compliance response capabilitiesDaeryun Law Firm announced on August 24 that it is strengthening its fair trade and compliance response capabilities by recruiting, as an advisor, Bae Jin-cheol, former president of the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency, who served for a long time at the Fair Trade Commission.Advisor Bae Jin-cheol, who recently joined Daeryun, is a fair trade expert encompassing competition law enforcement and international competition cooperation, having held key posts at the Fair Trade Commission such as Director General of the Business Transaction Policy Bureau, Director for Adjudication Coordination, and Competition Cooperation Attaché at the Korean Embassy in the United States. After retiring from public office, he worked as an advisor at Yulchon and Klas Hankyul before joining Daeryun this time. Kim Guk-il, Daeryun's representative attorney, said, "As the Fair Trade Commission's sanctions and the regulatory environment for corporate transactions grow stricter by the day, expert compliance diagnosis is essential," adding, "With the addition of advisor Bae Jin-cheol, who combines rich administrative experience with outstanding economic and legal insight, we expect Daeryun's fair trade and corporate advisory competitiveness to be further strengthened."Advisor Bae Jin-cheol stated his aspirations, saying, "For fair-trade-related issues, preventive measures are far more important than after-the-fact responses," and "At Daeryun, I will proactively and closely inspect companies' legal risks and present practical solutions so that companies can build a stable management environment."Legal Times, Reporter Kim Yong-hyun (yhkim@legaltimes.co.kr) [Read Full Article] Legal Times - [Law Firm iN] Daeryun Recruits Bae Jin-cheol, Former President of the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency (Go to) Newspim - [Law Firm Issue] Daeryun Recruits 'Fair Trade Expert' Bae Jin-cheol, Former President of the Fair Trade Mediation Agency (Go to)

A court ruling has emerged holding that the unit period for applying a flexible working hours system does not necessarily have to match the shift work rotation cycle.According to the legal community on the 21st, the 1st Civil Division of the Uijeongbu District Court, in the appeal of a wage claim lawsuit filed by care worker Mr. A against nursing home director Mr. B, overturned the original judgment that had ruled in favor of the plaintiff and dismissed the plaintiff's claim.Mr. A worked for about one year in 2023 at the nursing home operated by Mr. B. The following year he filed a wage arrears complaint with the labor office, which later led to a civil lawsuit.They applied a two-week-unit flexible working hours system under the Labor Standards Act. Generally, working hours excluding break time cannot exceed 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. However, applying this system allows one to work more when the workload is heavy and rest when it is light, thereby exceeding 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. Provided that work in any particular week must not exceed 48 hours.Mr. A worked in a pattern of a 24-hour shift including 8 hours of break, followed by two consecutive days off. However, Mr. A argued that in this case the shift work rotated on a three-week cycle, so it could not be regarded as a two-week-unit flexible working hours system. Accordingly, he asserted that the flexible working hours system was invalid, and thus Mr. B should pay about 1 million won, including overtime allowances for days he worked more than 8 hours.In contrast, Mr. B countered that he had lawfully introduced and operated a two-week-unit flexible working hours system, and that since no problem of exceeding the working hours limit had occurred, there were no additional wages owed to Mr. A.The first instance ruled in Mr. A's favor, finding that the nursing home's work rotated on a three-week cycle and that the average weekly working hours exceeded 40 hours, thereby denying the validity of the two-week-unit flexible working hours contract they had concluded.However, the second instance judged differently. The appellate bench found there was no basis for setting the unit period of a flexible working hours system to be identical to the work rotation cycle. It also found that in Mr. A's case, since he worked 16 hours over two weeks five times, he worked an average of 40 hours per week, and the working hours in the weeks he worked three times also did not exceed 48 hours, so the working hours limit was not violated.Attorney Heo Seong-guk of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. B, explained, "The Labor Standards Act merely sets the requirements for the flexible work system and places no special restrictions on setting the unit period. By arguing that there is no basis for making the unit period identical to the actual on-site work rotation cycle, we were able to overturn the first-instance judgment and win the case." Reporter Jeong Cheol-uk [Read Full Article] Court: "Flexible Work Unit Period Need Not Match the Shift Work Rotation Cycle" (Go to)

Attorney Kim Dae-won of Daeryun Law Firm According to a survey by the Korea Center on Gambling Problems, as of 2024, more than 4 out of every 100 Korean adolescents had experienced gambling, and more than 27 had seen or heard about a friend's gambling. Also, 54% had been exposed to gambling advertisements or related promotional materials.According to National Police Agency statistics, the number of adolescents aged 14 to 18 arrested in Busan for gambling-related matters from 2022 through June 2024 was 21 in total.Recently, a teenager who rode a stolen motorcycle without a license to repay cyber-gambling debts and stole cash from an unmanned store was caught by police.In a telephone interview on the 21st, attorney Kim Dae-won of Daeryun Law Firm said, "Youth gambling carries a high risk of leading to a chain of crimes if not eradicated early," adding, "Efforts to prevent recidivism and appropriate legal responses when necessary are very important."The following is a Q&A with attorney Kim.-What is the problem with youth gambling?"Due to the cyber environment, the number of adolescents arrested for gambling is increasing every year. Moreover, caution is needed because it can lead to other crimes such as theft, extortion, and coercion, or to school violence, in order to raise funds. Research shows that youth gambling is unrelated to gender, grade level, subjective standard of living, or average allowance, and that many first encounter it through introductions by friends or seniors."-What punishment does one face?"Under the Criminal Act, one is subject to a fine of up to 10 million won, and if habitual conduct is recognized, the punishment is strengthened to up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won. Internet sites such as Rohai, Sadari, Dalpaengi, and Social Graph, as well as casino games, clearly constitute illegal gambling. Being an adolescent does not exempt one from legal responsibility. Those aged 14 and older can be held criminally responsible."-Are private sports Toto and the recently popular Hold'em pubs also subject to punishment?"In our country, all gambling other than the seven designated types—such as the lottery, Kangwon Land, horse racing, and sports promotion betting tickets—is illegal. A Hold'em pub is also clearly illegal if chips won through the game are exchanged for cash or other forms of property, and an adolescent who uses it is likewise punished for the crime of gambling."-What should one be legally mindful of when necessary?"Investigative agencies tend to calculate the criminal amount as the total sum of deposits and withdrawals, so it is necessary to proactively submit a financial transaction analysis table to clarify the pure principal invested. Also, one should exercise the right to participate in the mobile phone digital forensics to establish the actual number of instances, so as to avoid a charge of habitual gambling."Reporter Baek Jae-hyun (itbrian@newsis.com) [Read Full Article] "Rising Youth Gambling, Early Eradication Is Important" (Go to)

Beyond name-lending to joint openings and MSOs"Early response important... Impact on criminal punishment and licenses too" As crackdowns on broker-owned hospitals (illegally operated by non-medical persons) expand beyond simply checking for name-lending toward examining actual hospital operating structures, caution is required from medical institutions and medical personnel. In particular, in operating forms utilizing joint openings or hospital management support organizations (MSOs), if the roles in the contract differ from the actual management, it may be judged a broker-owned hospital, so advance review is needed, it is pointed out.Attorney Jang Se-chang of Daeryun Law Firm advised on the 20th, "A broker-owned hospital case is not a matter that ends with the National Health Insurance Service's clawback disposition," adding, "It can affect not only administrative sanctions such as criminal punishment and business suspension but also the medical personnel's license, so the facts must be accurately organized from the early stage of the investigation."The number of broker-owned hospitals caught by the National Health Insurance Service from 2009 through last year is 1,805, with clawback decisions approaching about 3 trillion won. Recently, moving away from the traditional method in which a non-medical person borrows a doctor's name, operations take various forms such as joint openings, network hospitals, and hospital management support organizations, making the distinction between lawful management support and illegal operation a major issue. Attorney Jang explained, "Whether a hospital is a broker-owned hospital depends not on the name in the contract but on who actually operated and controlled the hospital." He said one must comprehensively examine the hospital's key decision-making, fund procurement, staff hiring and salary decisions, and the attribution of profits.Recently, the Supreme Court also ruled, in a case where a non-medical person put forward a medical corporation to substantively operate a nursing hospital, to the effect that the actual operator can bear responsibility separate from the nominal opener. Attorney Jang said, "It is a judgment showing that who exercised the actual decision-making and management authority is important, rather than the external nominal title."If judged to be a broker-owned hospital, it can lead not only to clawback of unjust health insurance gains but also to administrative dispositions such as criminal punishment and business suspension. Depending on the matter, it can also affect the medical personnel's license.In particular, an early response to the investigation is important. This is because the National Health Insurance Service's clawback procedure, police and prosecution investigation, and administrative agency dispositions may proceed simultaneously or sequentially, and confirmation statements or submitted materials prepared in an earlier investigation may be used as grounds for judgment in later procedures.Attorney Jang said, "Just because you have been notified of an administrative investigation, you must not sign a confirmation statement or submit accounting materials without sufficiently verifying the facts," and "Since early statements and materials can affect later administrative dispositions or administrative litigation, you must respond carefully."Administrative and investigative agencies chiefly check the party who concluded the hospital lease contract, who bore the cost of purchasing or leasing medical equipment, the authority over staff hiring and salary decisions, and the source of operating funds and attribution of profits. To prove that the medical personnel was the actual operator, it is important to have objective materials such as financial transaction records and salary payment data prepared.Medical institutions that have contracted with MSOs must likewise check whether the management support work was carried out within a lawful scope. If the management support company is involved in the hospital's core decision-making such as personnel and finance, or has a structure taking excessive profits, it can lead to a broker-owned hospital controversy.Attorney Jang advised, "The scope of management support work and the basis for cost calculation should be clearly stated in the contract, and the actual operation should be managed to match the contract's contents."He added, "A broker-owned hospital case does not stop at the clawback of health insurance finances but can affect the very existence of the medical institution and the medical personnel's license," emphasizing, "One should routinely check the medical personnel's independent decision-making structure and fund flows, and if an investigation begins, respond from the outset with the help of a legal expert, comprehensively considering the clawback, criminal procedures, and administrative dispositions."Reporter Jeong Ye-jin yejin0311@inews24.com [Read Full Article] [Legal Focus] ⑫ Broker-Owned Hospitals, Administrative Dispositions More Fearsome Than Clawbacks... Early Response Is the Key (Go to)

Charged with hitting the other driver with his car during a driving dispute... First instance: "6 months in prison, 1 year suspended sentence"Appeal: "Defendant braked just before the collision... Victim likewise did not complain of injury right after the accident" A man who was put on trial on charges of injuring another driver by hitting him with his car was found not guilty on appeal.On the 24th of last month (July), the 1st Criminal Division of the Busan District Court, at the appellate sentencing hearing for Mr. A, a man in his 70s indicted on charges of aggravated injury, overturned the original judgment that had sentenced him to 6 months in prison suspended for 1 year, and found him not guilty.Mr. A was charged with hitting and injuring Mr. B, the driver of another vehicle who had protested to him, with his car on a road in Busan in 2024.At the time, Mr. B had gotten out of his car and was approaching to protest that Mr. A's driving had nearly caused an accident, but Mr. A was found to have driven straight ahead as he was.The prosecution, taking the view that an angry Mr. A had intentionally struck Mr. B after the two drivers exchanged profanities and got into a dispute, brought the case to trial.The first-instance court sentenced Mr. A to a suspended prison term. The court ruled, "The origin of the incident lay in the defendant's conduct, and had he apologized at the initial stage, the incident would not have escalated; instead he provoked further anger," adding, "We took into account factors such as the victim pleading for a severe punishment."Disputing this, Mr. A submitted an appeal, arguing he had no intent. He said that when Mr. B stopped, he tried to change lanes and pass, but Mr. B suddenly blocked his path. He emphasized that he immediately braked and stopped, and that Mr. B did not complain of pain right after the accident.The appellate court found him not guilty. The appellate bench said, "In the dashcam footage, the victim suddenly got out of his car and approached the defendant's vehicle, and the speed decreased just before contact with the victim," adding, "This makes it impossible to rule out the possibility that there was an intent to pull up alongside and settle the dispute through the window."It further added, "Right after the vehicle contact, the victim only took issue with the other party's manner of driving and words," and "he returned to his own vehicle without any particular mention of a physical collision."Meanwhile, attorney Kim Nak-hyung of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, explained, "For aggravated injury using a vehicle to be established, it must be clearly proven that the defendant intended to strike the other party deliberately," and "Through the dashcam footage, we uncovered the fact that Mr. A had braked before contact and the circumstance that Mr. B abruptly blocked the car, allowing us to overturn the first-instance judgment and clear an unjust accusation." whyjay@sportsseoul.com Reporter Shin Jae-yu [Read Full Article] "He Hit Me With His Car" Man in His 70s Charged with Injury in Road Rage Incident Found 'Not Guilty' on Appeal (Go to)

Major change in the 2026 inheritance tax reform... Full abolition of siblings' statutory reserve of inheritanceA far-reaching change... How to weigh the relationship between contributory portion and statutory reserveCompanies preparing for business succession... Must build meticulous tax strategy and asset succession designNew issues... Proving contribution to corporate growth and establishing grounds for loss of inheritance rights are the key Can I leave my property entirely to the person I want? In April 2024, the Constitutional Court's decision on the statutory reserve of inheritance (2020Heon-Ga4, etc.) offered a different answer to this long-standing question than before. The statutory reserve system, maintained for 45 years since its implementation in 1979, reached a major turning point. The core of that decision was not a denial of the statutory reserve system itself, but a rebalancing of three values—'family protection,' 'individual property rights,' and 'freedom of testament'—in line with changing times. This judgment by the Constitutional Court led to institutional change when amendments to the Civil Act concerning the declaration of loss of inheritance rights, division of inherited property, and the statutory reserve passed the National Assembly this February. The biggest change is the full abolition of the siblings' statutory reserve. Since the provision on siblings' statutory reserve (Article 1112, Item 4 of the Civil Act) lost its effect as unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court's decision, in cases filed after the decision of unconstitutionality, siblings' claims for the statutory reserve lose their legal basis and are dismissed. However, the handling of individual cases and the outcome of litigation already in progress may vary depending on the stage of litigation and transitional provisions. This Constitutional Court decision reflects the judgment that, unlike in the agrarian society of the past, in modern society siblings form an independent economic community, and there is little justification for restricting the decedent's freedom to dispose of property rights by recognizing a statutory reserve even for them.In practice, this brings considerable change to the asset succession strategies of single-person and unmarried households. For example, if a businessperson who lived single all his life and raised a nephew like his own child wishes to leave all his property to that nephew, in the past siblings with whom he had long had no contact could claim the statutory reserve; now it has become possible to fully pass on the property according to one's own intent.Another key change is the newly established grounds for loss of the statutory reserve. This reflects the judgment that it is unreasonable to guarantee a statutory reserve even to an heir who has long neglected support obligations or committed continuous abuse, abandonment, or serious criminal acts. In practice, however, how far the grounds for loss of inheritance rights extend, and who must prove them with what evidence, are expected to become new issues. Merely a poor family relationship is insufficient; it is important to secure objective and concrete evidence in advance, such as the decedent's care facility admission and discharge records, medical diagnoses, and text messages and recordings capturing the heir's verbal abuse or circumstances of abandonment.In addition, one of the most far-reaching changes is the relationship between the contributory portion and the statutory reserve. Under prior practice, even if an eldest daughter who cared for her parents alone for 20 years received property as compensation, an unreachable younger sibling could claim the statutory reserve, creating the unreasonable situation of having to return part of it. Accordingly, the Constitutional Court declared a decision of nonconformity to the Constitution with respect to the provision not reflecting the contributory portion in calculating the statutory reserve (Article 1118 of the Civil Act) and the provisions not stipulating grounds for loss of the statutory reserve (Article 1112, Items 1–3 of the Civil Act). This amendment provides that gifts and bequests made as compensation for specially supporting the decedent or specially contributing to the maintenance or increase of the decedent's property are not treated as special benefits (newly established proviso to Article 1008 of the Civil Act), reorganizing matters so that contribution is more robustly reflected in the division of inherited property and the calculation of the statutory reserve.The scope of recognition for the contributory portion is not limited to caring for parents. Participation in the management of a family company, management of inherited property, and business expansion through the injection of personal funds may also allow recognition of a contributory portion. In practice, however, a subjective claim of having "taken good care of my parents" alone makes it difficult to have a contributory portion recognized. One must have ample materials that can objectively prove the degree of contribution, such as salary records, business fund transfer records, and caregiving expense receipts.These changes carry significant meaning for companies preparing for business succession as well. When shares are concentrated and passed on to a particular child who has long participated in corporate management and contributed to the growth of the family business, the possibility has grown that this may be recognized in civil law not as a simple gratuitous gift but as legitimate 'compensation' for contribution, expanding the legal basis for defending management rights against other heirs' claims for return of the statutory reserve. However, even if excluded from the scope of civil-law statutory reserve return, the possibility that gift and inheritance taxes on share transfers under tax law will still be levied cannot be entirely ruled out, so the necessity of conducting a tax review and a thorough tax-saving strategy in advance is growing.The overhaul of the statutory reserve system is not merely a change in inheritance law. It affects tax strategy and asset succession design as a whole. With the abolition of siblings' statutory reserve, asset transfers using lifetime gifts and testamentary substitute trusts have become far more flexible. However, the burden of gift and inheritance taxes is not directly linked to the statutory reserve reform but is determined separately under existing tax provisions such as the Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act. Therefore, since concentrating assets on a particular heir or a third party may increase the gift and inheritance tax burden, tax-saving strategies such as securing tax payment funds and the family business inheritance deduction must be reviewed together.This legal amendment is more likely to change the nature of inheritance disputes than to reduce them. Beyond the era of uniform statutory inheritance, an era of customized estate planning that better respects the decedent's intent is opening. Going forward, how to prove the contributory portion and what evidence proves the grounds for loss of inheritance rights—rather than the statutory reserve ratio itself—will become the new central issues of inheritance disputes. [Read Full Article] [Contribution] The First Major Overhaul of the Statutory Reserve of Inheritance in 45 Years... What Is the Key to the Changing Design of Estate Planning? (Go to)

Man in his 40s charged with violating the Road Traffic Act received a non-indictment decision on the 22nd of last month"Even with a public notice, if he was unaware of the revocation, driving without a license is not established" A man in his 40s who took the wheel unaware that his driver's license had been revoked ex officio for missing the aptitude test period received a non-indictment decision from the prosecution.For a charge of driving without a license to be established, 'intent'—driving while clearly aware that the license had been revoked—must be proven; the result reflects the acceptance of his argument that it was difficult for him to know about the revocation because the administrative agency's notification was not properly delivered.According to the legal community on the 19th, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office issued a non-indictment decision on the 22nd of last month for Mr. A, a man in his 40s who had been referred on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act (driving without a license).Mr. A was charged with driving a vehicle in Yongin in June while his license was invalid. Earlier, Mr. A's license had been revoked ex officio by the police because he had not taken the aptitude test even though his driver's license renewal period had passed.From the early stages of the case, Mr. A strongly denied the charge, asserting he had absolutely no intent regarding driving without a license. He said he had lost his existing driver's license and was unaware that the renewal period had even arrived, and that he had received no mail or text message notification from the National Police Agency regarding the license renewal and revocation.The prosecution, which took over the case, judged Mr. A's argument reasonable based on the flaws in the notification process.Through its non-indictment decision statement, the prosecution said, "Although mail regarding the conditional license revocation decision was sent to the suspect's registered address, this alone cannot conclusively establish that he was aware his license could be revoked," adding, "It is confirmed that the second registered-mail notification was returned undelivered."The prosecution further explained the grounds for non-indictment, saying, "There is no record of notification to the suspect regarding the aptitude test by any means other than mail, such as text message," and "Even if there was a lawful public notice substituting for the license revocation notification, that circumstance alone makes it difficult to conclude the suspect actually knew of the revocation."Attorney Seo Bong-ha of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A in this case, explained, "Driving without a license is a crime for which the charge is recognized only when one drives while aware that one's own license has been revoked or suspended," and "By intensively proving, through objective facts in the notification process such as the returned mail records and the non-receipt of text messages, that Mr. A could not have known of the license revocation at all, we were able to obtain a non-indictment decision." Reporter Son Jong-wook handbell@kyeonggi.com [Read Full Article] Man in His 40s Who Drove Unaware His License Was Revoked... Why the Prosecution Issued a 'Non-Indictment Decision' (Go to)