Deceased K-pop star's brother celebrates passage of 'Goo Hara law'

South Korea's parliament passes bill banning absentee parents' claims to their child's assets

Instagram page of Koo Ho-in (Instagram)

Koo Ho-in, the older brother of deceased K-pop star Goo Hara, celebrated the news of the National Assembly on Wednesday passing a law revision that would prevent parents who neglected child-rearing duties from collecting their child's wealth.

"It (the bill) finally passed thanks to all the attention (from the public). I thank you all in this time of difficulty," Koo wrote on his Instagram page late Thursday. He shared the news that the long-pending bill had finally been passed, after it was discarded at the end of the 20th and 21st Assembly.

The revision of the Civic Act was first proposed in 2020, and is set to take effect on 2026.

The Goo Hara law was petitioned by Koo himself after his sister passed away in 2019. He said their mother, who had been absent from their lives since leaving home when Goo was 9, turned up after her death and tried to claim the assets of the deceased.

The court in 2020 granted the mother 40 percent of Goo's wealth as there were no legal grounds for banning absentee parents from claiming their child's assets. South Korea's inheritance law grants inheritance to only the parent if the deceased had been unmarried and childless, but the court gave the brother and the father an extra 20 percent on grounds that they were the ones who contributed to her upbringing.

Koo said in a 2020 press conference that the mother suddenly appeared at Goo's funeral and insisted on being the host, recording conversations and taking selfies with celebrities who came to pay their respects. "Hara was tormented by being left by her own mother as a child. Please make sure that the tragedy which had befallen her and our family would not happen again," he said.

The revised law states that those who have gravely violated their child-rearing responsibilities or committed serious crimes can be revoked of their right to claim their child's inheritance. For this to happen, the deceased must have either written the parent out of their will, or the co-heir to the inheritance must make the request to the court.

The National Assembly passes a revision to the inheritance law that would prevent absentee parents from claiming their children's wealth during a plenary session, Wednesday. (Yonhap)

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)