An equal right to inherit? Failure of an inheritance law amendment in South Korea for gender equality in intergenerational transfers

Equalizing inheritance rights is often suggested as an important step to guarantee gender equality in family transfers. South Korea removed the gender discriminatory provision in its inheritance law in 1991. This study looks at two channels of family transfer in South Korea—inheritance and inter vivo gifts—and investigates whether the legal reform has resulted in gender-equal family transfers. The study found that the reform has not increased gender equality in family transfers because (1) women continue to be disinherited from their fair share through legal wills or family negotiations; (2) inter vivo gifts increased to become the more common mode of transfer in the post-reform period, but these gifts have been highly gendered, with the majority gifted to males. It suggests that inheritance reforms are not a panacea for ensuring gender equality in family transfers, against a backdrop of conflict between patrilineal norms and legal reforms