What would the new Korean bill change about choosing a child’s surname?

It would let parents decide to use the mother’s surname either when registering their marriage or when reporting the child’s birth. The bill would expand the current timing for that choice, which is now limited to marriage registration.

Who proposed the bill on allowing the mother’s surname at birth registration?

Rep. Park Ju-min and 14 other Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers proposed the amendment last week. The bill targets Article 781 of the Civil Act.

Why did the lawmakers say the surname rule should be revised?

They said there can be a long gap between marriage registration and a child’s birth, so couples may not know whether or when they will have children at the time they must decide. They said the change would give parents more choice and better realize gender equality in marriage and family life.

Mother's surname at birth? Bill aims to shift Korea's family-name deadline

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Summary

A group of ruling Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers introduced a bill to let married couples choose the mother’s surname for a child at birth registration instead of only at marriage registration. The amendment to Article 781 of the Civil Act, proposed by Rep. Park Ju-min and 14 other DPK lawmakers, would expand the timing for that choice while keeping the father’s surname as the default. The lawmakers said the change would better reflect the gap between marriage and childbirth and support gender equality in family life.

Key Facts

The bill was proposed last week by Rep. Park Ju-min and 14 other Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers.
It would amend Article 781 of the Civil Act.
Under the current law, parents can use the mother’s surname only if they declare that intention when registering their marriage.
The proposal would still keep the father’s surname as the default if no other choice is made.

By Jung Min-ho

Published Sep 6, 2026 2:32 pm KST
Updated Sep 6, 2026 3:55 pm KST

A nurse holds a newborn baby at the neonatal nursery of CHA Medical Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 26. Newsis

A group of legislators of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) introduced a bill that would permit married couples to decide whether their child takes the mother’s surname at the time of birth registration, instead of when the marriage is registered.

The amendment to Article 781 of the Civil Act, proposed last week by Rep. Park Ju-min and 14 other DPK lawmakers, would expand the time during which parents may agree to give a child the mother’s surname.

Under the current law, in principle, children receive their father’s surname automatically. Parents are allowed to use the mother’s surname for their children only if they declare their intention to do so when registering their marriage. This means that couples are asked to make a decision about the surname of a future child before they may know if or when they will have any children.

The bill would retain the assumption of paternal surname if otherwise unspecified, but allow parents to decide to use the maternal family name either when registering their marriage or when reporting the child’s birth.

“There can be a considerable interval between the registration of a marriage and the birth of a child. At the time of marriage registration, it may not yet be known whether the couple will have a child or when the child will be born,” the lawmakers said in the proposal.

The bill is intended to ensure parents have a choice while more fully realizing the constitutional principle of gender equality in marriage and family life, they added.

However, the proposal stops short of abolishing the default rule that children take their father’s surname.

Opposition to the automatic use of the father's surname was previously taken up during the liberal Moon Jae-in administration. In 2021, the government’s Fourth Basic Plan for Healthy Families said it would pursue a revision that would replace the father-surname principle with a system based on parental agreement.

The reform, however, did not result in a legislative revision. After the election of Yoon Suk Yeol, the Ministry of Justice reversed course, telling the Constitutional Court in 2022 that the existing rule did not infringe on constitutional rights. It cited concerns about siblings having different surnames and the traditional significance of names within families. The ministry also said that further discussion and broader social consensus were needed before pursuing legislative reform.

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