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Korean LawyerRecently our office has represented US clients whose German father had passed away in South Korea without any will.  At the time of passing, the deceased was domiciled in Korea and remarried to a Korean wife.  The Korean wife contacted the US family out of blue to discuss how to distribute the estate in Korea.  The US clients were the children from the deceased’s previous marriage in the US.  They contacted our office for the legal advice and representation.

One of the issues was which country’s inheritance law shall be applicable, i.e. the Korean inheritance law or the German inheritance law.  This was because the deceased had a foreign nationality, while his estate and residence at the time of passing were all in Korea.  Practically, when the Korean law is applied, the US children shall be entitled to the larger shares than those granted under the German law.

In Korea, Article 49 of the Korean Act on Private International Law(“APIL”) is the starting point to determine which country’s law shall be the governing law in case of an international inheritance case.  It provides that (more…)

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Korean LawyerQ) I am a US citizen with a Korean spouse.  We married in Seoul and then went to America where we have been since.  I have been a NJ resident.  Korean spouse abandoned me in 2018 and went to live with her friend in Maryland.  Korean spouse states that she wants a divorce and insists she is entitled to all of my monies in Korea.  My options are to file for divorce in New Jersey or Maryland.  I also want to see what the Korean court can do.  Ideally, I would want to get the F-6-1 visa in Korea as well as ensure my stake in the Korean property.

A) Here you have two main issues correlated with an international divorce in Korea: an international jurisdiction and a governing law.

If your wife has any registered address in Korea, the jurisdiction would not become an issue.  However, as I understand she is residing in Maryland, it would become an issue whether a Korean court could exercise jurisdiction over two persons who are now living in Korea.

In this regard, the Private International Act(“PIA”) provides that the Korean court shall have international jurisdiction when a party or a case in dispute is substantially related to South Korea.  This means the residence (more…)

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Seoul Bar AssociationThe Seoul Bar Association has recently issued a Self-Advocacy Note for the use of any criminal suspect under the Korean investigative procedures.  Before this being issued, the National Human Rights Commissions had recommended the police and the prosecutors to guarantee the criminal suspects’ right to take notes.  Although this may sound weird to some from other countries, the Korean police and prosecutors have been prohibiting the suspects from taking their own notes during the interrogation.

 

This Self-Advocy note is prepared in order to help any suspect inducing a foreign suspect to fully understand and examine his/her statutory rights to self-advocacy before and during the investigative procedures. You can download it at the homepage of the Seoul Bar association or by clicking here.

This also contains a good explanation of the overall investigative procedures under Korean law.  Below is quoted from the English version of Self-Advocacy Note which explains about the Criminal Investigative Procedures in Korea.  It should be greatly appreciated that (more…)

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Unlike situations in some states in the U.S., a prenuptial agreement is somewhat in a grey area in the Korean legal system.

When the case later goes into a divorce by agreement, the prenup will be fully honored by the court.  It is legal and enforceable in Korea.

When the case, however, goes to a judicial divorce or a contested divorce, the Korean court applies a more strict standard in honoring the validity and application scope of the prenuptial agreement, which in many cases results in nullifying the prenuptial agreement.

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When you hire an employee in South Korea, you cannot freely fire the employee.  Article 23 of Labor Standard Act(“LSA”) requires a “justifiable cause” if and when an employer takes disciplinary actions, including termination of employment, with regard to its employees.  Korean courts have held that a “justifiable cause” refers to such causes as a criminal offense, serious illegal acts, and gross negligent acts, etc. which would make maintaining of the relevant employment relationships no longer possible under generally accepted public notions.

Especially, because termination of employment is the most extreme measure, taking away an employee’s means of making a living, Korean courts are known to be very strict in applying the above-noted criteria, when it determines whether a particular termination is justified.  Thus, unless an employee’s specific conduct is something that makes the current employer-employee relationship no longer possible to continue, it would be advisable for an employer to take less severe disciplinary actions such as suspension of employment, reduction of salary, or reprimand.

Further, as regards the employment termination, under LSA, an employer may also terminate employees where the employer can establish (more…)

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Q) I was deported from Korea in 2015. I was given a five year entry ban for domestic violence against my then ex South Korean wife. The sentence I received was 3 years probation. However, I have a young child in Korea, who is taken care of by my ex-wife, but I have been paying the child supports. I would like to visit Korea to see my child but I am very worried that my visa application or entry would be denied by the past record and the entry ban.  My ex wife and I are now in a good relationship and she would provide a supportive letter for me. What is the likelihood that the Korean immigration will allow me to see my son?

A) In principle, a foreigner listed on the entry ban of Korean immigration office is prohibited to enter Korea for some period of time.  There is, however, a special entry permit which can be made during the period of entry ban for some humanitarian reason.  Most common cases are for the family unity purposes.  For example, there was a case where (more…)

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Q) I want to know how to get a Korean Criminal Investigation Records Check Reply. For my immigration application purpose, I need to submit this to the Canadian authority (CIC Canada). They said this document must include the “lapsed records”, i.e. all the criminal records database search. I contacted the Korean embassy in Toronto and they only issue normal Police Records which is not accepted by the CIC. They told me I had to get it from the local police station in South Korea.  However, it is not feasible for me to visit Korea just in order to get this document. I’m wondering whether your law firm deals with this type of case. If so, I would like to know the details of the process.

A) We’ve been dealing with this kind of case quite often.  The Canadian immigration office is requesting a Police Certificate. The official title of this document in Korea is a Korean Criminal Investigation Records Check Reply(범죄수사경력회보서). There are many people wondering how to get this Korean criminal background check and it also seems that there is conflicting information about this.

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Q) Recently, the Ministry of Justice(MOJ) had revoked my Korean citizenship.  I came from Pakistan, lived in Korea for 12 years without any problem and duly acquired my Korean citizenship 3 years ago.  The MOJ’s decision was made on the ground that my passport had been forged.  But that is not true.  It has a different name on it but it was a newly issued one which can be authorized by the local government.  Can I get my Korean citizenship back?

A) First of all, the MOJ’ decision to revoke your Korean citizenship is under the judicial review of Korean Administrative court.  There are cases where the court overturned the MOJ’s citizenship revocation on the ground that either (i) there is no legal ground for revocation and/or (ii) the decision causes too much personal harm rather than serving a public cause.

There are many fake/newly-issued foreign passport cases in Korea.  Some courts held that the revocation made against a person who had submitted a fake/newly-issued foreign passport while (more…)

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Q) I have a question about whether to renounce inheritance in Korea. My mother passed away a few months ago. There was no will. She was a Korean citizen and her husband too. All two children live in the U.S. and they are U.S. citizens. As we understand I have inherited a 2/7 share of my mother’s condominium and some cash in Korea. My stepfather and his Korean lawyer seem to up to no good. They both have sent conflicting and in my opinion false information to me. Especially his lawyer is threatening me that I would not able to sell my share so I had no choice but to give up or transfer my share. The stepfather asked me to sign POA and a Renunciation of Inheritance but I refused. They even said as I am not a Korean citizen, it would be much better renouncing inheritance for the sake of estate distribution. He said he will compensate me for my renounced share. Can you give me any advice?

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We have received many inquiries regarding the child support obligation and custody/visitation rights under Korean law.  Some cases are related to the divorcing parties and some to the unmarried couples who had babies during the relationship.

Establishment of Paternity under Korean Law

In case of unmarried couples, the birth father has no parental rights and obligations until his paternity is established in Korea.  That can be done in 2 ways.  One is to report himself as the father with the Korean local government.  And the other one is filing a paternity suit.

Determination of Child Care Issues

When the parental relationship is established, the unmarried couple needs to agree on child care issues such as child custody, visitation, and child support.  The same goes for the couple divorcing in South Korea.  When it is hard to reach an agreement, the matters will be heard and decided by the judge per the party’s filing a suit with the Korean family court.

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