남북한가족법의 변천과 남북통일 후 가족법의 미래상

Changes in Family Law in South and North Korea and Future Prospects for Family Law Post-Reunification

This paper is an extension of a keynote paper titled “The Impact of Division and Unification on Family Law: Implications from the Experiences of East Asia’s Divided Countries.” It was originally presented August 22 at the 2015 International Conference on the Present and Future of Family Law in South and North Korea: A 70-Year Division, hosted by the Korean Society of Family Law. The paper provides an overview of the development process of family law in South and North Korea since the liberation of the peninsula; explores the elements of North Korea’s family law that should remain in effect, at least temporarily, after the reunification of South and North Korea; and examines whether there are elements of North Korea’s family law that should be embraced in post-reunification consolidated family law. This paper is composed of as follows; The basic order of liberal democracy must be the cornerstone for family law in a unified Korea. This principle squarely contradicts the legal order of family law founded on North Korea’s socialist system. Nonetheless, the understanding of family relations established among North Koreans should not be changed unilaterally. It may be necessary to acknowledge the provisional and transitional effects of family law or inheritance law until the unification of laws has been completed. Even after the completion of the process of unifying family law, however, it is assumed that the estrangement between people of South and North Korea in terms of consciousness, understanding, modes of living and legal practices with respect to various institutions under family law will not easily be resolved, owing to the length of the division of nations. The issue of resolving these divisions will remain even after the consolidation of family law. It may be difficult to declare that unification or consolidation has actually been achieved as long as the problem remains unaddressed.