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Article 809 of the Korean Civil Code (Korean: 민법 제 809조) was the codification of a traditional rule prohibiting marriage between men and women who have the same surname and ancestral home. On 16 July 1997, the Constitutional Court of Korea ruled the article unconstitutional.〔''Same-Surname-Same-Origin Marriage Ban'' case (95Hun-Ka6 on Article 809 (1) of the Civil Act); ^ .〕 The National Assembly of South Korea passed an amendment to the Article in March 2002, which came into force on 31 March 2005, and prohibited marriage only between men and women who are closely related. == Rules restricting marriage== In Korea, a child inherits his or her father’s surname.〔Article 781 Korean Civil Code (into Family Register of Surname and Origin of Surname of Child ) (1) A child shall assume its father’s surname and the origin of surname and shall have its name entered in its father’s family register.〕 Traditionally, men and women who have the same surnames and "ancestral homes", called ''dongseong dongbon'' (Hangul: 동성동본, Hanja: 同姓同本), are not permitted to marry. The rule, called ''honinbeop'' (Hangul: 혼인법, Hanja: 婚姻法), originated in China,〔See article 182, "Marriage by Those of the Same Surname" in Wallace Johnson (trans.) ''The T'ang code'' (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1979) at 49-82.〕 and can be traced back at least to the late Joseon Dynasty in Korea. In the context of Confucianism, the rule was a mechanism to maintain family identities and ensure the integrity of the family as a sociopolitical institution.〔"Family versus the individual: the politics of marriage laws in Korea" in Daniel A. Bell and Hahm Chaibong (ed.) ''Confucianism for the modern world'' (Cambridge University Press, 2003) at 336.〕 The marriage rule was codified as Article 809 in 1957. It read as follows:
Those surnamed Kim (Hangul: 김, Hanja: 金), for example, can be divided between 282 different blood ancestors, each of whom are identified with a different ancestral home.〔National Bureau of Statistics, Economic Planning Board, ''Report on the Korean surname and Its Origin'' (1988) Vol. 1 at 12-228.〕 The two most populous branches of the Kim clans are Gimhae (with 4 million members) and Gyeongju (1.5 million members).〔Note 5 at 12-228.〕 As these two Kim clans descend from different patrilineages, a Gimhae Kim and a Gyeongju Kim can marry. Before the 1997 Constitutional Court decision, however, two members of the 4 million Gimhae Kim could not marry, regardless of the distance of their relationship. Because of population growth, greater mobility and increasing urbanisation in South Korea, the chance of meeting and falling in love with someone from one's own patrilineage was much greater. It was especially a problem for the three largest Korean clans, the Gimhae Kims, the Milyang Parks, and the Jeonju Lees. Despite Article 809, many men and women sharing the same partilineage chose to live together as husband and wife. The common surname marriage ban was temporarily lifted by special acts three times, each for a period of one year, in 1977,〔Act No. 3052, 31 December 1977.〕 1987,〔Act No. 3971, 28 November 1987.〕 and 1995.〔Act No. 5013, 6 December 1995.〕 At the time of the first special act in 1977, 4577 same name/common ancestor couples became legally married. In 1988 the number increased to 12,443, and by 1996, it had reached 27,807.〔Mi-Kyung Cho, "Violation of the Constitution in Korean Family Law" (2002) ''International Survey of Family Law'' 243 at 245.〕 Some estimate that the actual number is as high as 200,000 couples, nearly 2 percent of all married couples in South Korea. The children born of such marriages were, legally, out-of-wedlock. They were not eligible for national health insurance and were discriminated against in matters of inheritance and property rights. The Korean Legal Aid Center for Family Relations established a special report and counselling facility for couples subject to Article 809. Article 809 has been much criticised by family lawyers and the Korean Law Association on the ground that it infringes on the freedom of choice in marriage, and that it reinforces traditional paternalism.〔See Mi-Kyung Cho, "The Family Law Reform and the Improvement of the Status of Women" 33 ''University of Louisville Journal of Family Law (Annual Survey of Family Law)'' 437.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Article 809 of the Korean Civil Code」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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