Two Years of the Reformed Adult Guardianship Law in South Korea: A Retrospect

Abstract

The reform of the adult guardianship law in South Korea is the first crop of the Civil Code amendment project which was promoted by the government. Since two years passed since the new law took effect, it is time for a retrospect. This article, based on the author`s presentation delivered at the 9th BESETO Conference on November 8, 2015, at the Peking University Law School, sketches the outline of the reform and analyzes its virtues and shortcomings. Furthermore, it describes the lawyers` responses to the new rules, which show both a worrying trend and a hopeful sign. This overview ends with assessing the obstacles with which the legislation is confronted today, such as the tendency of hasty legislation and reign of the old law in thinking.