Goo Hara's Brother Explains Why He's Fighting For A "Goo Hara Act"

Goo Hara’s brother Goo Ho In has written about how he’s determined to change inheritance laws in the name of preventing further tragedies.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Goo Hara’s family is in a legal dispute over her inheritance, following her passing last November. Her brother has described that they were abandoned by their mother when they were young, however their mother is now claiming the right to half of her inheritance. He has filed a lawsuit against their mother for a ruling on the division of Goo Hara’s inheritance.

According to the Civil Act, in the case of the death of an adult without children, their mother or father have a right to their inheritance even if they didn’t personally raise and provide for them. It’s reported that people are only disqualified from this right in extremely rare cases such as murder or the falsification of a will.

Goo Hara’s brother is now aiming to change that.

On March 18, his lawyer Noh Jong Uhn explained that they are calling for the establishment of a “Goo Hara Act” that would expand the reasons for disqualification to an inheritance so that it includes those who are substantially negligent of their duties to support direct ancestors or direct descendants.

The act would also relax the conditions required for the acknowledgment of the contributory portion of inheritance. South Korea’s contributory portion system adds a portion of shares of inheritance when a co-inheritor has particularly taken care of the deceased for a considerable amount of time through cohabitation, nursing, or other methods or has particularly contributed to the maintenance or increase of the deceased’s property.

The lawyer explained that they are calling for a rewording of part of this act so that it changes from requiring someone to have “particularly contributed” to instead evaluating contribution relatively in comparison to the contributions of other co-inheritors.

Noh Jong Uhn explained that in order for their legislative petition to be evaluated by the National Assembly, they need to reach 100,000 signatures from citizens within 30 days.

On March 19, Goo Ho In posted on Instagram to describe why they are fighting for this act. He included a childhood photo of Goo Hara and himself.

His letter is below:

Hello, I am Goo Ho In, the older brother of the late Goo Hara.

I’m very grateful toward all of the friends and fans who loved my sister Goo Hara and were together with her on her final journey.
It’s been four months since Hara left us.
I won’t forget the sight of my sister looking at me while she was in my arms.

As I stated through the press recently, I am going through a difficult time due to the inheritance issues with our mother, who abandoned us two siblings when we were young. In this period of time when we should be commemorating my sister that we miss so much, my family is having an even harder time because of this issue.

I have submitted a legislative petition for the establishment of a “Goo Hara Act” because I hope that no more families will have to go through the pain that my family is going through, which will mean that my sister’s death does not go in vain.

I’m well aware that even if the “Goo Hara Act” passes, it will not apply to my family’s issue.

However, it is not only my own wish but also Hara’s that there will no longer be tragedies in which parents receive death benefits after having abandoned their children, which is not only the case for our family’s issue but also happened at the time of the sinking of the Cheonan and Sewol Ferry.

So I’m writing this in the hopes that the name “Goo Hara” will be remembered as a name that transforms our society into one that is better and more just.

I earnestly hope that we can gather everyone’s agreement and become a catalyst that transforms our society into a better and healthier one.
The link to the legislative petition is in my profile.
Finally, I sincerely express my gratitude to all the people who always love and mourn my beloved sister.

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