Can Hong Sang-soo’s Illegitimate Child Inherit? Maybe Unfair to his Legal Family

Famous actress Kim Min-hee, who has been in a 10-year extramarital relationship with director Hong Sang-soo since 2015, revealed that she is due to give birth this spring, further igniting controversy. Reports suggest she became pregnant last summer and is now in full-term.  

However, Hong Sang-soo is still legally married to his wife, A, with whom he shares an adult daughter. This sparks discussion about whether the wife will finally accept a divorce or continue to maintain her legal marriage status. Some also expressed regrets that Kim Min-hee basically wasted her stellar acting career in pursuit of an extramarital affair.

Additionally, there are questions raised regarding the registration of Hong Sang-soo’s illegitimate child and the child’s rights to inheritance.  

Legal perspective on family registration 

On the February 24th broadcast of an SBS show, lawyers Yang Na-rae and Lee In-cheol explained the family register and inheritance of the child to be born between Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee.

When asked, “What will happen to the family register of the child born between Director Hong Sang-soo and Actress Kim Min-hee?” Yang Na-rae answered, “Since the two are not legally married, if they want the child to be under the father, they have to go through the process of requesting recognition. Then, the child of the father, Director Hong Sang-soo, will be registered as the child. Legally, the wife’s consent is not necessary.”

Additionally, attorney Lee In-cheol, who is specialized in inheritance issues, said, “Inheritance is the same for both illegitimate and married children. It may be unfair to the wife or children, but legally, children have equal inheritance rights.”

Previously on January 17, attorney Park Kyung-nae discussed the matter of Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee’s illegitimate child, saying, “Before the abolition of the Hoju system (a patriarchal family registry system), for a child to be added to the father’s family registry, the father had to report the birth, which often led to the child being legally listed as a child of the father and his legal spouse.”

The attorney then added, “However, with the abolition of the Hoju system and the implementation of the Family Relation Registration Act, Kim Min-hee can register the birth of her child under her name, even if she remains unmarried. If Hong Sang-soo acknowledges the child, the child can then be added to his family registry. In such cases, the family relation certificate would list ‘Mother’ as Kim Min-hee and ‘Father’ as Hong Sang-soo. However, Hong Sang-soo’s legal spouse, A, would still be recognized as his wife on his registry, even if the child is listed.”  

Questions about inheritance  

There have been rumors that Hong Sang-soo inherited a 120 billion won (approx 83 million USD) fortune from his late mother. His mother, the late Jeon Ok-soon, was a prominent figure in the film industry and is known as the first female film producer in Korean popular arts. She also reportedly engaged in publishing in Japan.  

Attorney Kim Mi-ru addressed the inheritance issue, stating, “Illegitimate children are still considered children under the law and are included in the order of inheritance as direct descendants under Article 1 of the Civil Code. Therefore, they are naturally entitled to a share of the inheritance. If Hong Sang-soo inherited substantial wealth from his mother, then the illegitimate child would also have a claim to it.”  

The inheritance ratio was also discussed on the premise that Director Hong and his wife A do not get divorced.

According to attorney Kim Mi-ru, if the spouse gets 1.5, the children gets 1 each.

Then, when asked if Director Hong’s assets are estimated at 120 billion won, can his wife A receive about 3/7, attorney Kim said, “Of course, that can happen, but that is something that needs to be considered when inheriting. Whether it will necessarily be the legal inheritance share is something that needs to be considered.”

Additionally, even if Hong Sang-soo left a will stating that he will give all of his assets only to Kim Min-hee and her illegitimate child, only a reserved portion can be claimed by Kim Min-hee and her illegitimate child.

In this case, only 50% of the legal inheritance share can be recognized, so the wife will inherit a significantly smaller amount, but Kim Min-hee won’t get everything.

Possibility of damages claim  

Attorney Kim Mi-ru also commented on the possibility of Hong Sang-soo’s legal wife, A, filing a damages lawsuit against Kim Min-hee for marital damages, saying, “Yes, that is possible.”