ID :
23083
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 13:35
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Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/23083
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Justice ministry to lower legal age, add Internet clause in Civil Law revisions
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- The Justice Ministry said Tuesday it will start preparations to amend the country's five-decades-old Civil Law, seeking to lower the legal adult age to 19 and add transaction rules on the Web.
Korea's Civil Law, established in 1958 to regulate private and commercial
matters, has not had any major revisions aside from a partial amendment on
housing issues in 1984, and some of its clauses do not reflect contemporary
social and economic trends in the country, the ministry noted.
Among the changes, scheduled to be completed by 2012 for parliamentary approval,
are lowering the legal adult age from 20 to 19.
"Lowing the legal adult age is a worldwide trend, and it is time for Korea's
Civil Law to reflect the early physical maturity of its youth," the ministry said
in a statement.
Unlike many European countries and most U.S. states, where one comes of age at
18, Korea will set the legal age at 19 to ensure that high school classrooms do
not include legal adults allowed to vote and drink alcohol, it said.
The proposed revisions will also expand the legal guardianship system, currently
restricted to minority and incapacitated persons, to the elderly and disabled
persons older than 19.
There is a growing need for legal protection of dementia patients amid the
growing elderly population, the ministry noted. The number of people aged 65 and
older increased to 4.8 million last year from 3.4 million in 2000, while the
general population has dwindled due to low birth rates, according to government
data.
Guardians, usually designated by parents or courts, provide personal or property
care, such as paying bills, using credit cards or signing housing contracts, for
those who are physically or mentally incapable of carrying out daily chores.
A comprehensive set of laws regulating Internet-based transactions will be also
added in the new Civil Law, which currently covers computer-based commercial
transactions through fragmentary clauses, the ministry said.
"Despite the extensive supply of computers and the common use of the Internet,
the current Civil Law has almost no clauses on the electronic transactions," it
said.
Korea's Civil Law, established in 1958 to regulate private and commercial
matters, has not had any major revisions aside from a partial amendment on
housing issues in 1984, and some of its clauses do not reflect contemporary
social and economic trends in the country, the ministry noted.
Among the changes, scheduled to be completed by 2012 for parliamentary approval,
are lowering the legal adult age from 20 to 19.
"Lowing the legal adult age is a worldwide trend, and it is time for Korea's
Civil Law to reflect the early physical maturity of its youth," the ministry said
in a statement.
Unlike many European countries and most U.S. states, where one comes of age at
18, Korea will set the legal age at 19 to ensure that high school classrooms do
not include legal adults allowed to vote and drink alcohol, it said.
The proposed revisions will also expand the legal guardianship system, currently
restricted to minority and incapacitated persons, to the elderly and disabled
persons older than 19.
There is a growing need for legal protection of dementia patients amid the
growing elderly population, the ministry noted. The number of people aged 65 and
older increased to 4.8 million last year from 3.4 million in 2000, while the
general population has dwindled due to low birth rates, according to government
data.
Guardians, usually designated by parents or courts, provide personal or property
care, such as paying bills, using credit cards or signing housing contracts, for
those who are physically or mentally incapable of carrying out daily chores.
A comprehensive set of laws regulating Internet-based transactions will be also
added in the new Civil Law, which currently covers computer-based commercial
transactions through fragmentary clauses, the ministry said.
"Despite the extensive supply of computers and the common use of the Internet,
the current Civil Law has almost no clauses on the electronic transactions," it
said.
