Development of Security Rights Law since the Codification of the Civil Code of Korea

Abstract

The Civil Code of Korea (hereafter Civil Code or Code) came into effect as of January 1, 1960. It would be meaningful to review changes taken place in a certain area of civil law since the codification. I would confine the scope of discussion to security rights law, especially, keunmortgage and the Act on Security over Movable Property, Claims, etc. and the changes taken place in that area of the law since the codification of the Civil Code. I would like to explain how security rights law impacted the transactions system in Korea and how that, in turn, prompted the amendment of the Civil Code and the enactment of a number of special acts. The security rights law is basically modeled after the European civil codes, but it has diverged from its model and undergone some changes. Such changes have been achieved sometimes through the development of case law or legal theories, and other times by the enactment of new acts. The Act on Security over Movable Property, Claims, etc. has incorporated some elements of the American legal system, thereby attaching a new meaning and perspective to our history of reception of foreign legal systems.