민법상 배우자 상속분 개선방안에 관하여

Improvement of the Spousal Inheritance Share under Korean Civil Law

Korea’s spousal inheritance system has gradually evolved to promote gender equality. However, it employs a unique legislative approach where the inheritance share fluctuates depending on the number of co-heirs. This approach also lacks fairness when compared with the division of property in divorce, leading to long-standing discussions on the need for improvement. Despite repeated efforts and proposals, actual amendments remain elusive. This paper reaffirms the need to revise the spousal inheritance share, exploring the potential for introducing and applying a new marital property system and spouse’s contributory portion. Additionally, the paper reviews social perceptions and practices based on various statistics, supplementing previous research on the spouse’s inheritance share. The analysis suggests that fundamentally altering the marital property system from separate to joint ownership, by reversing the current principle and exception, could result in significant practical issues. Likewise, the contributory portion has limitations in justifying an increased inheritance share for a spouse solely based on the duration of the marriage, except in exceptional cases. Therefore, the most fundamental solution to spousal inheritance issues lies in increasing the spousal inheritance share. The ideal approach would be to allocate 50% of the deceased's property to the surviving spouse, considering practical implementation, societal norms regarding family structures, fairness in property division, the duration of the marriage, the process of wealth accumulation, and equity among co-heirs in remarried families. Moreover, if inheritance taxes are imposed individually on each heir, with a reduced burden on the spouse, it would align with the principles of fairness in property division in divorce and the “one generation, one tax” rule. This approach would also contribute to fiscal sustainability by enhancing private support in an aging society.