身分法上 男女平等에 관한 硏究

Abstract

Our Civil Code, enforced on January 1, 1960, was based upon the principles of equality between all the peon le of the renublic of Korea. As a result, the "Head of the Family-System" and rights of the husband wore reduced. Therefore, the position of woman was raised to more than it was under Korean Customary Law. But although it is true that the Civil Code made a great advance in the establisment of a democratic of family system, especially with regard to the principles of equality between woman and man, it has failed to eliminate the undemocratic feudal institution completely. This is because the Civil Code retains the Head of the Family-System which had previously been the hard core of the feudal family. The following is a review of ineqalities between woman and oc provided for in the Civil Code of Korea in the light of the Preamble, Article 9 and. Article 31 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. All of the provisions concerning relationship, marriage, diverce, parent-child relations, and succession give primary to blood relations of the male line. Examples of these are (1) The parental authority of the father is superior to that of the mother (2) The majority of the common property of a marriage belongs to the husband because the domestic labor of the wife is not recognized by law; (3) In divorce, the acting Civil Code as well as Korean Customary Law, provides that only the divorced party is requires' to assume payment of compensation for damages. This differs from foreign laws which provide for the payment of alimony and support and the distribution of common property; (4) In share of succession, the Civil Code attaches importance to relationships by blood of the male line. In succession of the head of the family, a lineal descendant man is superior to a woman. Besides these, there are other provisions of inequality under the acting Code. Our Civil Code is against the "Spirit of Equality" of the Constitution because some feudal factors still exist under Code. Therefore, civil law should be revised to agree with progressive, democratic principles and, consistent with the "Spirit of Equality" of the Preamble and Article 9 and 31 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea.