Legislation

The Civil Act or Civil Code (민법/民法) consists of six parts: General Provisions, Real Rights, Claims, Relatives, and Inheritance. Generally speaking, legislation refers to the process of making law. But this article is limited to the law related to the Civil Act.

In 2010 and 2011, there have been a number of legislations related to each part of the wide-ranging Civil Act.

First, legislations related to the General Provisions of the Civil Act are 'Act on the Establishment and Management of Public-Service Corporations', etc.

Second, legislations related to Real Rights are 'Act on the Ownership and Management of Aggregated Buildings', 'Registration of Real Estate Act', 'Provisional Registration Security Act', 'Factory and Mining Foundations Mortgages Act', 'Trust Act' and 'Foreigner's Land Acquisition Act', etc.

Third, legislations related to Claims are 'Housing Lease Protection Act', 'Commercial Building Lease Protection Act', 'Fidelity Guarantee Act', 'The Deposit into Justice Offices Act', 'Act on Civil Liability for Fire Caused by Negligence', 'State Compensation Act' and 'Product Liability Act', etc.

Fourth, legislations related to Relatives are 'Act on the Registration, etc. of Family Relationship', etc.

Key words
Civil Act, public-service corporation, aggregated building, real estate registration, factory mortgage

Acts related to Part I.
The Act was enacted on December 31, 1975 as Act No.2814, and the purpose of the Act is to supplement the Civil Act in aiding juristic persons to maintain public interests, and to contribute to the development of sound corporate activities (Article 1). The Act consists of 19 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * Act on the Establishment and Management of Public-Service Corporations (공익법인/公益法人의 설립·운영에 관한 법률)

Acts related to Part II.
The Act was enacted on April 10, 1984 as Act No.3725. The Act regulates the ownership and management of buildings where several sections, into which one building structurally divided may be independently used. Each section may be the object of independent ownership under this Act (Article 1). The Act consists of 66 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * Act on the Ownership and Management of Aggregated Buildings (집합건물/集合建物의 소유 및 관리에 관한 법률)

The Act was enacted on January 1, 1960 as Act No.536 and it prescribes regulations about registration of real estate. Registration shall be filed with regard to indication of a sectioned building, and establishment, preservation, transfer, change, restriction on disposal or extinguishment of rights falling under any of the following; ownership, superficies, easements, rights to lease on a deposit basis, mortgages, pledges of rights, leasehold interests (Article 3). Registration shall be filed by a person entitled to registration and an obligator for registration or his/her agent by presenting himself/herself at a registration office (Article 23, 24). Also, it could be filed via E-registration to send registration information and attached information. The Act consists of 113 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * Registration of Real Estate Act (부동산등기법/不動産登記法)

The Act was enacted on December 30, 1983 as Act No.3681. The purpose of this Act is to provide, with respect to the return of any borrowed object, the effect of a security contract and provisional registration or ownership transfer registration made for the purpose of such security, when a borrower pre-engages to transfer other property rights in lieu of the borrowed object if the value of such property at the time of pre-engagement exceeds the sum of the loan and any interest accruing therefrom (Article 1). The Act consists of 18 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * Provisional Registration Security Act (가등기담보법/假登記擔保法)

The Act was enacted on October 17, 1961 as Act No.749 and the purpose of this Act is to devise plans for the preservation and sound development of enterprises, development of underground resources and growth of industries by properly regulating the structure of the factory foundations or mining foundations, and the legal relationship of establishment, registration, etc. of mortgages over each foundation so that the owners of factories or mining rights holders may secure funds (Article 1). The Act consists of 61 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * Factory and Mining Foundations Mortgages Act (공장 및 광업재단저당법/工場·鑛業財團抵當法)

The Act was enacted on December 20, 1961 as Ac No.900 and the purpose of this Act is to regulate the general legal relations on the trust in the private law. The term "trust" means a legal relation that a person who creates a trust, transfers a specified property to a person who accepts the trust, or makes another disposition, and has the trustee manage and dispose of the right to such property, in the interests of a specified person, or for a specified object, on the basis of a special confidence related between the truster and the trustee (Article 1). The Act consists of 147 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * Trust Act (신탁법/信託法)

The Act formerly covered by the 'Act On The Acquisition of Lands By Foreigners And Management', was enacted on January 7, 1994 as Act No.4726. The purpose of this Act is to prescribe matters necessary for land acquisition, etc. of foreigners within the territory of the Republic of Korea and the Act consists of 9 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * Foreigner's Land Acquisition Act (외국인토지소유법/外國人土地法)

Legislation related to Part III.
The Housing Lease Protection Act was enacted on March 5, 1981 as Act No.3379 and the purpose of this Act is to secure stability in the residential life of national citizens, by providing for special cases to the Civil Act, with respect to the lease of buildings for residence (Article 1). Even though it is not registered, if the lessee has completed delivery of a house and the resident registration, the lease shall take effect against the third person from the following day thereof. In such cases, the resident registration shall be considered to have been made at the time of the moving-in report (Article 3(1)). With respect to a lease, of which the term is not fixed, or is fixed for less than two years, the term of such lease shall be deemed to be two years: Provided, that the lessee may claim that the term fixed for less than two years shall be valid (Article 4(1)). The lessee shall be entitled to receive a repayment of a specified amount of the deposit in preference to other persons having the security rights in the leased house. In such cases, the lessee shall satisfy requirements provided for in Article 3 (1) before an application for auction of the house is registered (Article 8(1)). The Act consists of 13 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * Housing Lease Protection Act (주택임대차보호법/住宅賃貸借保護法)

The Act was enacted on December 29, 2001 as Act No.6542. The purpose of this Act is to guarantee the stability of the economic life of people by prescribing exceptions to the Civil Act concerning the lease of commercial buildings (Article 1). The Act consists of 18 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * Commercial Building Lease Protection Act (상가임대차보호법/商街賃貸借保護法)

The Act was enacted on October 5, 2002 as Act No.449 and the purpose of this Act is to appropriately regulate relations arising from fidelity guarantee (Article 1). The term "contract for fidelity guarantee" in this Act means the contract agreeing to bear liability for the compensation of relevant damage in cases where an employee inflicts damage on his/her employer due to any reason attributable to himself/herself in the course of performing his/her duties (Article 2). The Act consists of 8 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * Fidelity Guarantee Act (신원보증법/身元保證法)

The Act was enacted on July 29, 1958 as Act No.492 and the purpose of this Act is to prescribe procedures for making deposits pursuant to Acts and subordinate statutes and matters necessary to efficiently manage and operate deposited goods (Article 1). The Act consists of 27 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * The Deposit into Justice Offices Act (공탁법/供託法)

The Act was enacted on April 28, 1961 as Act No.607. The purpose of this Act is to provide for special cases concerning the reduction of the amount of compensation under Article 765 of the Civil Act where a person who has accidentally caused a fire is not grossly negligent considering the special characteristics of a fire caused by negligence (Article 1). The Act is only applicable to a claim for compensation for a part damaged by combustion where a fire is caused by negligence (Article 2). The Act consists of 3 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * Act on Civil Liability for Fire Caused by Negligence (실화책임/失火責任에 관한 법률)

The Act was enacted on March 3, 1967 as Act No.1899. The purpose of this Act is to prescribe the liability of the State or local governments to compensate for damages and the procedures for such compensation (Article 1). When public officials or private persons entrusted with public duties inflict damage on other persons by intention or negligence in performing their official duties, the State or local governments shall compensate for such damages under this Act. If such damage has been caused by intention or gross negligence of a public official, the State or local governments may demand reimbursement to the relevant public official (Article 2). The Act consists of 15 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * State Compensation Act (국가배상법/國家賠償法)

The Act was enacted on January 12, 2000 as Act No.6109 and the purpose of this Act is to protect consumers against damage caused by defective products, and contribute to the safety of the citizen's life and the sound development of the national economy by regulating the liability of manufacturers, etc. for damages caused by the defectiveness of their products (Article 1). The Act consists of 8 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * Product Liability Act (제조물책임법/製造物責任法)

Legislation related to Part IV.
The Act was enacted on May 17, 2007 as Act No.8435. The purpose of this Act is to prescribe matters concerning the registration of establishment and change in family relations such as the birth, marriage, death, etc. of people and matters concerning certification thereof (Article 1). 'Family Registration Act', the previous form, was found unconditional by the Constitutional Court in September, 2007, due to the 'head of family' basis.
 * Act on the Registration, etc. of Family Relationship (가족관계의 등록 등에 관한 법률)

Henceforth, the National Assembly has abolished the existing Act in order to enact an entirely different 'Act on the Registration, etc. of Family Relationship', which is found on an individual basis of each family member.

The new Act has been enforced from January 1, 2008. According to this Act, registration affairs shall be handled through a computerized information processing structure (Article 11), and the Family Relations Register shall be prepared individually (Article 9). Moreover, 'Registration Place' became the main criteria of family relations register, taking place of the former 'Domicile of Origins'.

Lastly, this Act provides articles concerning the reporting procedures of adoption and dissolution of adoption(Articles 67 through 70) (supplement to the Article 908-2 and Article 908-5 of the Civil Law), and also prescribes articles that regulate the reporting procedures with regard to the change of family names, domicile of origin(supplement to the Article 781 of the Civil Law). The Act consists of 124 Articles and supplementary provisions.

Criteria of the Governing Law and Jurisdiction
The Act was enacted on January 15, 1962 as Act No.966, and the purpose of this Act is to determine the governing law and the international jurisdiction with regard to the cross-border relations of foreigners within the territory of the Republic of Korea as well as the relations of Korean citizens in foreign lands (Article 1). Provided that applications of provisions evidently violate good morals and other social orders of the Republic of Korea, the foreign governing law shall not be applied (Article 10). The Act consists of 62 Articles and supplementary provisions.
 * Private International Law (국제사법/國際私法)