Last Change:
05/27/2025
Act on Private International Law
Year: 1962
Type: Domestic law
Rights Category: Nationality, Integration & Public Affairs, Documentation
Description
The purpose of this Act is to prescribe international jurisdiction and applicable law in relation to a legal relationship with a foreign element.
Selected provisions
(1) The requirements for the formation of a marriage shall be governed by the law of the nationality of each party.
(2) The form of marriage shall be governed by the law of the place where the marriage is to take place or by the law of the nationality of one of the parties: Provided, That where the marriage is to take place in the Republic of Korea, and either party to the marriage is a national of the Republic of Korea, the law of the Republic of Korea shall govern.
The general effects of marriage shall be governed by the laws in the following order:
1. The same law of the nationality of the spouses;
2. The same law of the habitual residence of the spouses;
3. The law of the place to which the spouses are most closely related.
(1) Succession shall be governed by the law of the nationality of the deceased at the time of death.
(2) Where the deceased clearly designated one of the following laws by any form applicable to a will, succession shall be governed by the law, notwithstanding paragraph (1):
1. The law of the habitual residence of the deceased at the time of the designation: Provided, That such designation shall be effective only where the deceased had maintained the habitual residence in the relevant country until the time of his or her death;
2. The lex situs of the immovable property to govern the succession of the immovable property.
(1) A will shall be governed by the law of the nationality of the testator at the time of the will’s making.
(2) The amendment or revocation of a will shall be governed by the law of the nationality of the testator at the time the will is amended or revoked.
(3) The formalities of a will shall be governed by any of the following laws:
1. The law of the country of the testator's nationality at the time of the testator's will-making or death;
2. The law of the habitual residence of the testator at the time of the testator's will-making or death;
3. The lex loci actus at the time of the will’s making;
4. The lex situs of the immovable property to govern the formalities of a will on the immovable property.