Suggested citations
AGLC4 | 상속법 2002 [Inheritance Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2002)] [tr Daye Gang].
Bluebook | Sangsogbeob 2002 [Inheritance Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2002)] translated in Law and North Korea by Daye Gang, https://www.lawandnorthkorea.com/.
Adopted on March 13 (2002), as Directive No. 2882 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
CHAPTER I. BASICS OF INHERITANCE LAW
Article 1
The Inheritance Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall strictly adopt systems and order in inheritance, gifts, and the implementation of inheritances to serve to correctly resolve inheritance issues.
Article 2
Protecting privately owned property is the consistent policy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The State shall guarantee a right of inheritance over privately owned property.
Article 3
The State shall guarantee the rights of heirs equally. However, in cases where inheritance portions have been separately determined in a will or where a right of inheritance has been restricted by law, it shall be followed.
Article 4
In inheritance, the State shall pay attention to preferentially assuring the interests of those who lack independent living ability.
Article 5
The State shall respect the wishes of the parties in inheritance and shall embody among them the good customs unique to the people such as understanding, concession, and co-operation.
Article 6
The State shall assure objectivity and fairness in treating and handling inheritance issues.
Article 7
An inheritance commences upon the death of the person who gives the inheritance. Inheritance can also commence upon the certification of the public notary office about the death of the person who gives the inheritance.
Article 8
The procedure for inheritances shall be done at the address of the person who gives the inheritance. In cases where the address of the person who gives the inheritance is inconvenient to be the inheritance procedure location, the inheritance procedure may also be done at the location of the property of the person who gives the inheritance or the place of his or her death.
Article 9
Even if a named heir, a person who exceedingly abused the person who gives the inheritance in life or consciously did not look after him or her, a person who forged a will or or eliminated its basis, a person who used deception or coercion to cause him or her to make a will or intentionally created the inheritance conditions, or a person who cannot receive an inheritance according to the will, cannot be heirs.
Article 10
The right to receive an inheritance or gift of a person who is incompetent to act shall be exercised by his or her legal representative.
Article 11
An heir shall inherit the individual property and property rights and duties of the person who gives the inheritance from the time the inheritance commences. Rights that are indivisibly related to the character of the person who gives the inheritance, such as the right to receive a support fee, may not be inherited.
Article 12
In cases where there are several heirs, for property that cannot be divided such as an individual home, it may be jointly owned.
Article 13
Property that may be inherited is as follows.
1. Property obtained through distribution upon labour
2. Property obtained through supplementary benefits of the State or society
3. Property obtained through individual sideline activities
4. Homes, books, currency, savings, household goods, cultural goods, daily necessities and wheeled vehicles such as cars
5. Each kind of rights of claim to property and debts
6. Other property legally acquired from other citizens such as property received as a gift
Article 14
An heir may make a claim to a court to recover his or her inheritance rights within 1 year of finding out that his or her right of inheritance has been violated. However, in cases where the legal limitations period has been separately designated, it shall be followed. Claims to recover a right of inheritance may be done after 10 years pass after the inheritance commences.
CHAPTER II. COURT INHERITANCE
Article 15
The property of a deceased person shall be inherited as stipulated by law. The identity of an heir shall be in accordance with the registration of the authorities concerned.
Article 16
Cases of court inheritance are as follows.
1. In cases where there is no will or it is nullified
2. In cases where the heir or beneficiary according to the will has abandoned it
3. In cases where the heir or beneficiary according to the will has passed away before the testator
4. In cases where there is property that has not been named in the will
Article 17
Heirs shall be spouses, children, adopted children, step-children, children to be born, parents, adopted parents, and step-parents. In cases where there is no spouse, children, adopted children, step-children, children to be born, parents, adopted parents, or step-parents, it shall be grandchildren, grandparents, maternal grandparents, siblings, adopted siblings, and step-siblings. In cases where there is no heir as pointed out in the foregoing paragraph, it shall be blood relatives within 4 degrees of kinship.
Article 18
In cases where an heir who is a child or sibling passes away before the person who gives the inheritance before the inheritance begins, his or her children shall take over the given order of inheritance.
Article 19
In cases where there are several heirs of the same ranking, the portions of inheritance allocated to them shall be the same. However, the portion of inheritance for a person who directly fulfilled a duty to support the person who gives the inheritance while he or she was alive or for a person who has less income because he or she lacks labour capacity may be increased, and the portion of inheritance for a person who had the ability to support but did not properly fulfil his or her duty to support may be decreased.
Article 20
An heir may apply to a court to approve or abandon the inheritance in writing or orally within 6 months of finding out that the inheritance has begun. If an application to approve or abandon inheritance is not done within 6 months, the inheritance shall be recognised to have been approved.
Article 21
In cases where an inheritance has been approved, the property and property rights and responsibilities of the person who gives the inheritance shall be inherited without restriction. However, in cases where an heir abandons an inheritance or takes a limited inheritance, the property and property rights and responsibilities of the person who gives the inheritance shall not be inherited or shall be restricted.
Article 22
A limited heir may fulfil the debts and gifts of the person who gives the inheritance according to his or her will within the scope of the inherited property. A court may require an inventory of inherited property from a limited heir.
Article 23
A limited heir shall fulfil the relevant debts of a person who gives the inheritance and must hand over property to the beneficiary.
Article 24
In cases where the person who gives the inheritance has several creditors, a limited heir must fulfill the debt according to the proportion of their debts. However, debts to the State or to social, cooperative organizations must be preferentially fulfilled. In cases where all debts of the person who gives the inheritance cannot be fulfilled using the inherited property, gifts according to the will shall not be fulfilled.
Article 25
The legal effect of abandoning an inheritance by an heir shall occur from the time the inheritance begins.
Article 26
The portion of a person who has abandoned his or her inheritance among heirs of the same ranking shall go to another heir of the same ranking. In cases where all heirs of the same ranking abandon their inheritance, those portions shall go to the heirs of the following ranking.
CHAPTER III. INHERITANCES THROUGH WILLS AND GIFTS
Article 27
Citizens may make a will related to inheritances and gifts. If a citizen with a will passes away, his or her property shall be inherited or gifted according to the will.
Article 28
A person designated as the heir according to the will shall have the right of inheritance. A person designated as a beneficiary according to the will has the right to take over the relevant property from the person with the right of inheritance.
Article 29
A testator may give an inheritance or portion of a gift to an heir or beneficiary differently from each other.
Article 30
The legal effect of a will shall occur together with the death of the testator. The legal effect of a will with a condition attached shall occur in cases where that condition has been satisfied.
Article 31
In cases where an heir or beneficiary according to the will passes away before the testator, the legal effect of that will shall be voided. There shall be no inheritance by representation in inheritance by will.
Article 32
An heir or beneficiary under a will may approve or abandon it. In cases where a person has not approved or abandoned an inheritance or gift under a will within 6 months of the time he or she knew that she would receive it, it shall be recognised as approved. The treatment of property abandoned as an inheritance or gift under a will shall follow legal inheritance processes.
Article 33
A person who has comprehensively received the property of the person who gives the inheritance as a gift according to a will shall take over the given rights and responsibilities for that property.
Article 34
Citizens with legal capacity may be testators. However, a person who has reached the age of 16 years and has a job may make a will within the scope of property obtained through his or her income.
Article 35
A will must be a document that reflects clear and truthful wishes. A will made through deception or coercion shall not have legal effect.
Article 36
A testator may gift the whole or part of his or her property to a person who is not an heir as stipulated by law. In these cases, the spouse, children, or parents who supported him or her must be left more than one half of the property to be inherited, and grandchildren, grandparents, and siblings must be left more than one third.
Article 37
The method for a will is as follows.
1. Written wills shall be a will document drafted in one’s own writing and shall be marked with the testator’s name by hand or a seal stamped, and the drafting date shall be written.
2. An oral will shall be with the testator arranging the participation of more than 2 observers. In these cases, one observer shall write down the content of the will, then receive confirmation on that content from the testator and observer and cause the testator and observer to mark it with their name by hand or stamp a seal, and shall write the date of the will.
3. In cases where an oral will is recorded, the words of more than two observers and the date of the will shall be recorded.
4. A notarized will shall be done before a notary and the testator shall arrange the participation of more than 2 observers. In these cases, the notary shall record the content of the will, confirm it with the testator and observers, cause the testator and the observer to mark it with their name by hand or stamp a seal, receive notarization from the public notary office, and shall record the date of the will.
Article 38
A person who cannot be the observer of a will is as follows.
1. An heir or beneficiary
2. A person who is a relative of an heir or beneficiary
3. A person who is incompetent to act
4. A person who has an interest in an inheritance or gift
Article 39
The recognition of nullity of a will shall be done by application to a court by an interested party or a Public Prosecutor.
Article 40
A testator may cancel or change his or her will. In cases where the content of a will done several times is different, the last will shall have preferential legal effect.
CHAPTER IV. EXECUTION OF INHERITANCE
Article 41
An heir who comes to know about the death of a testator must soon inform the other heirs to handle the inherited property. In cases where not all heirs know about the death of the person who gives the inheritance, the resident administration institution of the area where the person who gives the inheritance was residing shall inform the heirs.
Article 42
A citizen may designate an executor by a will. However, in cases where an executor has not been designated by a will, the heir shall become the executor. In cases where there are several heirs, they shall determine an executor by agreement and shall inform the resident administration institution. In cases where an executor cannot be agreed, the resident administration institution shall designate one upon the application of an interested party. A person with legal capacity shall be an executor.
Article 43
An executor shall correctly manage inherited property and may do acts required to execute the inheritance. Heirs and interested parties may not do acts to interfere with the execution of the inheritance.
Article 44
Heirs and interested parties may inquire about the state of implementation of the inheritance. In cases where they have an opinion about the implementation of inheritance, the relevant claim may be made to a court.
Article 45
Before dividing the inherited property, an executor must differentiate between the individual property of the person who gives the inheritance and the jointly obtained property or individual property of the members of his or her family who cohabitated with him or her and must inform the heirs.
Article 46
Inherited property may only be divided after bonds have been received and debts fulfilled from the creditors of the person who gives the inheritance. In cases where inherited property has been divided without fulfilling the debt of the person who gives the inheritance, debts shall be fulfilled according to the portions of the inherited property.
Article 47
An executor may require a creditor of a person who gives the inheritance to prove a bond. In these cases, he or she may refuse to pay off debt for bonds that the creditor cannot prove.
Article 48
In cases where inherited property is divided, an executor must leave portions for the unborn. In these cases, it shall be based on confirmation documents from a medical institution.
Article 49
In cases where an inheritance has been executed without leaving a portion for an unborn child, heirs must return the portion of the unborn child. In cases where a child to be born has died, his or her portion shall be inherited by a different heir.
Article 50
In cases where no heir appears or he or she is not qualified to be an heir, the resident administration institution shall designate a property manager. In cases where the person who gives the inheritance has designated a property manager in the will, it shall be followed. A competent citizen or institution, enterprise, or organization may be a property manager.
Article 51
A property manager must manage inherited property as if it were their own property. Responsibility for damage created by not managing inherited property well shall be borne by the property manager.
Article 52
A property manager may do required acts to manage inherited property and may exercise the bonds or fulfil the debt of the person who gives the inheritance. However, in cases where not all the creditors of the person who gives the inheritance or the beneficiaries according to the will have been identified, inherited property may not be handed over.
Article 53
In cases where an heir does not appear, a property manager may receive the will of the person who gives the inheritance for bonds and gifts. In cases where an heir has not appeared within 6 months of a will being received about a bond or gift, the debt can be fulfilled or the gift can be made.
Article 54
In cases where the treatment of inherited property has been completed, a property manager must submit that update in a document to the authorities concerned. Property management expenses may be paid from the inherited property.
Article 55
In cases where there is no heir or beneficiary or all heirs have abandoned their inheritance or are not qualified to receive the inheritance, inherited property shall be paid into State coffers.
Article 56
In cases of an application and where there is significant basis to do so, a court may grant inherited property to a person who cohabitated with the person who gives the inheritance and supported him or her or received support, or had a close relationship with him or her.
Article 57
Differences in opinion occurring in relation to inheritance shall be resolved by method of agreement. In cases where it cannot be resolved by method of agreement, it may be raised in court to be resolved.
Last updated 21 December 2020