Law & Justice
Seoul Court Fines Mother for Forging Inheritance Document to Favor Elder Daughter
A woman in her 70s has been fined for forging an inheritance settlement agreement in order to transfer an apartment entirely to her elder daughter, deceiving her younger daughter in the process. According to legal sources on the 7th, Judge Jung Jung-ho of the Seoul Eastern District Court fined the woman, surnamed Kim, 5 million won on the 19th of last month for forging a private document and using a forged private document. The court ordered that Kim be held in a workhouse for one day for every 100,000 won left unpaid if the fine goes unpaid, and also ordered provisional payment equivalent to the fine amount. The case stemmed from the death of Kim's husband in 2021, who left behind a unit in the Jamsil Jugong No. 5 apartment complex in Songpa District, Seoul. Built in 1978, the complex is now 48 years old and received approval for a rebuilding project in July. Following her husband's death, Kim became a co-heir along with her two daughters, identified as A, the elder, and B, the younger. Kim decided the apartment should go entirely to A, and was later indicted for forging the inheritance settlement agreement without B's consent. According to court findings, in May 2022 Kim summoned B and told her she wanted to inherit the apartment solely under her own name so she could collect rental income for her retirement, falsely claiming that A had already agreed to this arrangement. Kim promised B that she would later receive a cash amount equivalent to her share of the apartment when the family's financial assets were divided. Trusting her mother, B signed the co-heir section of an inheritance settlement agreement that left the section identifying the apartment's heir blank, then departed. Kim subsequently called in A, telling her that the matter had already been settled with B and that A could inherit the apartment on her own. Kim had A sign both the heir designation section for the apartment and the co-heir section of the document. The agreement was then filed with the registry office of the Seoul Eastern District Court in June 2022. In her defense, Kim's lawyer argued that the charges of forging a private document, falsely entering an authentic deed, and using such documents did not apply, since B had affixed her seal to a blank agreement and provided a seal certificate with the intention of relinquishing her inheritance share. However, the court rejected this argument, stating that B appeared to have agreed to receive cash compensation on the understanding that the property share would go to her mother, Kim, not to her sister. The court further noted that given the poor relationship between A and B, and A's own intention to own the apartment, it was difficult to conclude that B intended for her share to go to A. In determining the sentence, the court took into account that Kim had no prior criminal record, that the offense occurred within a family context, and that damages had already been addressed through a civil lawsuit. However, the court stated it was imposing the fine after considering that Kim showed no remorse for her actions.