2026 Reserved Share Reform Korea Civil Law What Changed in 47 Years

On February 12, 2026, the National Assembly passed a Civil Code amendment on the reserved share (legal portion). It is the first substantive overhaul in 47 years and the legislature's response to the Constitutional Court's rulings of unconstitutionality and non-conformity issued on April 25, 2024. The abolition of siblings' reserved share, expansion of grounds for declaring loss of inheritance rights, application of the contribution share to the reserved share, and the shift to monetary restitution all moved at once. This article organizes, from a practical standpoint, which provisions apply to which cases and when.

The reserved share system was introduced by the 1977 Civil Code amendment and operated without major changes since then. The reserved share significantly restricts an individual's freedom to dispose of their own property. On April 25, 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled the provision recognizing siblings' reserved share unconstitutional, and ruled the provisions that did not separately provide grounds for loss of the reserved share, and that did not apply the contribution share to the reserved share, non-conforming with the Constitution.

The Constitutional Court allowed the existing provisions to apply provisionally until the legislature amended them by December 31, 2025. The amendment was not enacted within that deadline. Typically, even after a deadline following a non-conformity ruling passes, courts do not immediately treat the provisions as void, so the reserved share system continued to apply. With the February 12, 2026 amendment now passed, the roughly two-year legislative gap has been resolved.

The former Civil Code, through what was called the Goo Hara Act, allowed a declaration of loss of inheritance rights against a decedent's lineal ascendant who seriously violated their duty of support, committed a serious crime against the decedent, or otherwise treated them grossly unjustly. The subjects were limited to lineal ascendants.

The amendment expands the subjects to include lineal descendants and spouses as well. A declaration of loss of inheritance rights can now be sought against children or spouses who abandoned their duty to the decedent. The direction is that anyone in the family who fails to meet a basic standard of conduct may have their inheritance rights removed.

In addition, a new provision prevents the spouse of a disqualified heir or an heir who lost inheritance rights from inheriting by substitution. Under prior law, if a disqualified heir died, the surviving spouse could inherit by substitution, producing inconsistent outcomes. This amendment cleans that up.

The contribution share is a system that adds, to the statutory share, the portion by which a co-heir made a special contribution to maintaining or increasing the decedent's property. The former Civil Code did not expressly apply contribution share provisions to the reserved share, and the Constitutional Court found this non-conforming with the Constitution.

The amended Civil Code adds a proviso: gifts or bequests made as compensation for specially supporting the decedent or specially contributing to maintaining or increasing the decedent's property are not regarded as special benefit.

Practical effects:

• Ordinary gifts and bequests are counted as special benefit subject to reserved share restitution.
• However, gifts or bequests made as compensation for special support or contribution are excluded.
• As a result, the scope of restitution is reduced and the specially contributing heir is protected.

Courts previously exercised discretion to exclude part of the special benefit, but the amendment now codifies that judgment legislatively.

Prior practice required restitution of the reserved share shortfall in kind in principle. Monetary restitution was recognized only when both plaintiff and defendant agreed, or when in-kind restitution was impossible. When the gift or bequest involved real property, in-kind restitution meant transferring part of the property interest to the reserved share claimant, often resulting in unjust co-ownership and follow-up disputes over partition.

Although not directly addressed by the non-conformity ruling, the amendment also shifts the method of reserved share restitution to monetary restitution. The complexity of calculation is reduced, and co-ownership disputes over real property are expected to be substantially resolved.

• Main provisions (effective on promulgation): The amended law itself becomes effective on the date of promulgation, after the February 12, 2026 passage.
• Provisions on loss-of-inheritance declaration: Apply also to cases where inheritance commenced on or after April 25, 2024.
• Application of contribution share to reserved share (special benefit exclusion): No separate effective date set; applies to the actual case in the non-conformity ruling, cases pending on the same issue, and cases arising after promulgation.
• Method of reserved share restitution (monetary restitution): Applies only to cases where inheritance commences after this Act takes effect.

Because effective timing varies by issue, ongoing cases must individually check which provisions apply.

• Which issue does the case touch: grounds for loss of reserved share, contribution share for reserved share, or method of restitution
• Whether inheritance commenced on or after April 25, 2024
• Which instance the case is in (trial, appeal, or supreme court) and when oral arguments closed
• Whether real property or other non-divisible-friendly assets are included in the gift/bequest
• Whether facts of special support or contribution might support a defense for excluding special benefit

Q. Does the abolition of the siblings' reserved share take effect for the first time with this amendment? A. The provision recognizing siblings' reserved share had already lost effect with the Constitutional Court's unconstitutionality ruling on April 25, 2024. Unconstitutionality rulings take effect immediately. This amendment codifies that line legislatively.

Q. A parent gifted real property to a child. Can the reserved share now only be restituted monetarily? A. Monetary restitution applies only to cases where inheritance commences after this Act takes effect. Only inheritance cases of decedents who die on or after the promulgation date are subject to monetary restitution.

Q. I largely shouldered my parents' support. What protection can I receive under this amendment? A. The provision excluding gifts or bequests received as compensation for special support or contribution from special benefit is now codified, so that portion may fall outside the reserved share restitution scope. The facts and evidence supporting a finding of "special" support or contribution must be sufficient.

The 2026 reserved share amendment is the first substantive overhaul in 47 years, organized around four axes: abolition of siblings' reserved share, expansion of loss-of-inheritance declaration subjects, statutory application of the contribution share, and the shift to monetary restitution. Effective timing varies by provision; ongoing or upcoming cases must individually check how each provision applies. If the applicable category of your case is unclear, we recommend a review soon.

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Drafted by Attorney Yoon Jisang, Jonjae Law Firm. Last reviewed 2026-05-30.

This article is for general legal information and does not guarantee the outcome of individual cases.