Law & Justice

Seoul Court Fines Elderly Woman for Forging Inheritance Document to Favor Elder Daughter

By Kim Boyoung

A woman in her 70s, identified only as Kim, has been fined 5 million won ($3,690) by a South Korean court for forging documents to secretly transfer inherited property to her elder daughter, cutting out her younger daughter. The Seoul Eastern District Court's Criminal Division 8, presided over by Judge Jeong Jeong-ho, issued the ruling on Aug. 19, convicting Kim of forgery of a private document and use of a forged private document. According to the case, Kim's husband died in 2021, leaving an apartment in the Jamsil Jugong 5 Complex in Songpa-gu, Seoul, to be jointly inherited by Kim and her two daughters, referred to as A and B. The complex is a 48-year-old development currently undergoing reconstruction. Prosecutors said Kim wanted the apartment registered solely under her elder daughter A's name, without informing or securing consent from her younger daughter B. To accomplish this, Kim forged an inheritance property division agreement, a legal document meant to record heirs' mutual consent on how an estate should be divided. In May 2022, Kim told B that she intended to keep the apartment in her own name to collect rental income for her retirement, claiming that A had already agreed to this arrangement. Kim also promised B a larger share of the family's financial assets to make up for giving up her portion of the apartment. Believing this account, B signed a section of what she thought was a blank inheritance agreement, in the space marked for a joint heir. Immediately afterward, Kim contacted A, telling her that the matter had been resolved with B's consent, and had A sign the same document as an heir. In June 2022, Kim submitted the forged document to the registry office of the Seoul Eastern District Court to finalize the property transfer. The court determined that B had only agreed to relinquish her share on the belief that the apartment would go to her mother, Kim, in exchange for cash compensation, not directly to her sister A. It noted that given the strained relationship between the two sisters and A's clear desire to own the property, there was no indication that B intended to hand over her inheritance rights to A. While the court acknowledged that Kim had no previous criminal record, that the case involved a family dispute, and that the damage had since been addressed through civil litigation, it ultimately imposed a fine, citing Kim's lack of remorse for her actions.