Lee pledges to block debt inheritance for minors

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung meets with people at a subway station in Seoul, Jan. 9. Yonhap

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said Monday he will prevent the inheritance of debts by minors through an amendment to Korea's Civil Law.

In an election pledge posted on Facebook, Lee of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said he will seek to protect young people from becoming credit delinquents before starting their careers due to debt inherited from their parents.

Lee noted about 80 minors filed for personal bankruptcy due to their inheritance of parental debt between 2016 and March 2021.

"Our Civil Act adopts the heir's limited liability system, in which heirs give up their inheritance or take responsibility for their parents' debts only within the limits of inherited property. But there are many cases in which parental debts are inherited (by minors) due to their legal representatives' lack of legal knowledge or ability to respond," said Lee.

"In November 2020, the Supreme Court pointed out the need for legal alternatives to protect minors from these problems," Lee said, promising to revise the law to help minors obtain limited liability even after they reach the age of majority. (Yonhap)