[Updated: 2026]
In a Korean divorce, the spouse who caused the marriage to break down may have to pay consolation money. This is money paid for the emotional pain they caused. It is separate from property division, and many foreigners divorcing in Korea have never heard of it. This guide explains what consolation money is, who can claim it, how much Korean courts usually award, and how fault affects the result.
(more…)Losing a family member is difficult enough. When that family member leaves behind assets in Korea — and you are unfamiliar with Korean law, whether you live abroad or are a foreigner residing in Korea — the situation quickly becomes legally complex.
Korean co-heirs may contact you promptly, urging you to sign documents, making representations about what the estate contains, or proposing how the inheritance should be divided. Without a clear understanding of your rights under Korean law, you are at a serious disadvantage.
Korean inheritance law, Part V of the Civil Act, is detailed and, for foreign heirs, often unfamiliar. Your share of the estate, your right to challenge a will, your ability to protect against an unfair distribution — all of these depend on rules that may be very different from those in your home country. And in many cross-border cases, it is not even obvious from the outset whether Korean law applies at all.
In this article, our Korean inheritance lawyer explains the core principles of Korean inheritance law as they apply to foreign heirs — from who qualifies as an heir and how the estate is divided, to the protections available to you and the steps you can take if your rights are being overlooked.
(more…)Cross-border inheritance involving Korean assets—whether the decedent or the heir is a non-resident—often leads to unexpected Korean inheritance tax obligations. Without proper planning, foreign heirs may face administrative delays, tax audits, and significant penalties.
As Korean attorneys who regularly advise foreign families on cross-border estate matters, we have seen many cases where a lack of understanding of Korea’s inheritance tax rules resulted in avoidable risks and financial losses.
In this article, we explain who is liable to pay Korean inheritance tax, which assets are subject to tax, how the tax is calculated, and how to plan for payment—including options such as in-kind contribution or installment plans. Whether you are a foreign heir, a family representative, or a professional advisor assisting with Korean estate matters, this guide will help you navigate Korea’s inheritance tax system with confidence and clarity.
(more…)If you are a foreigner trying to divorce in Korea — or divorce a spouse who lives in Korea — this guide answers the questions the Korea divorce lawyers of our team hear most often.
Written by a Korean-licensed attorney with over 20 years of experience handling international divorce cases, this guide covers everything you need to know: whether Korean courts have jurisdiction over your case, which country’s law applies, how long the process takes, and what happens to your visa after divorce. Whether you are married to a Korean citizen or another foreigner, and whether you live in Korea or abroad, read on to find out how to proceed.
South Korea is one of the sought-after spots for medical tourism. In particular, Korean plastic surgery clinics are internationally renowned for their advanced techniques and relatively affordable costs. Every year, thousands of foreign patients visit Korea for cosmetic procedures.
However, like all medical interventions, plastic surgery carries risks. Some patients suffer from medical accidents or unsatisfactory results, leading to physical, emotional, and financial harm.
This article outlines what legal rights foreign patients have when they experience plastic surgery malpractice in Korea or unexpected outcomes after undergoing treatment in Korea—and how they can pursue compensation based on Korean law and actual court precedents.
(more…)The Seoul Bankruptcy Court has recently issued a bankruptcy declaration for Haru Management Limited, the company associated with Haru Invest, which abruptly suspended virtual asset withdrawals in June 2023. This case (2024Hahap100259) has significant implications for creditors, many of whom are foreign nationals, as they must now file their claims to secure their rights during the bankruptcy process.
The Seoul Bankruptcy Court recently issued a bankruptcy declaration for Delio, a South Korean virtual asset deposit platform. This case (2024Hahap100231) carries substantial implications for creditors, including a significant number of foreign nationals, who are now required to file their claims to protect their rights during the bankruptcy proceedings.
If you are dealing with unpaid receivables from a Korean company or individual, recovering these debts can be challenging. Often, Korean counterparts may ignore communication, delay payments, or cite unacceptable reasons for non-payment. Some may even rely on the assumption that the geographical distance, legal system differences, and language barriers make it difficult for foreign creditors to pursue debt recovery in South Korea.
This is when hiring an experienced Korean debt collection attorney becomes essential. A knowledgeable Korean business and litigation lawyer can guide you through the debt collection process under Korean law, from initial steps to enforcing claims.
In this article, our Korean lawyer explains the essential legal steps that foreign creditors can take to recover debts or unpaid receivables effectively.
This week a story of an overseas adoptee caugth our attention. She had succeeded in finding her birth father in South Korea after getting a DNA test order from the Korean Family Court. The news calls for an attention how hard it is for some undocumented adoptees to find their birth parents in Korea.
It is true that back in old days Korean government was not so strict in regulating the foreign adotion. Some children had been adopted without having the corrent documentations about their origins.
(more…)“I am an adoptee from South Korea to the U.S. Currently I live in the U.S. Recently I found my biological parents died in South Korea. He is survived by his wife and 2 sons. He had businesses in Korea. Can an adopted child inherit from biological parents in Korea? I have never met or spoken to his wife and sons and so I don’t know if he had a will written. What are my inheritance rights under Korean law?”
A legal child is entitled to inheritance from his/her deceased parent. When the child is adopted, some jurisdictions treat the adoption as disconnecting the legal relationship with the biological parent, and some jurisdictions don’t. We call the former as a full adoption and the latter as a simple adoption.
As you can understand from the general idea of inheritance, an adopted child can inherit from biological parents in Korea only when the adoption is regarded as (more…)