[Korean Law Insights] Korea's One-Stop Inheritance Service
- K-Law Consulting_Administration
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
[Published on July 7, 2026 edition of the "Korean Law Insights" column in the Korea Daily’s Economic Expert Section]
Korea moves to introduce an integrated payout service for inherited financial assets under the "Safe Inheritance" program
Easily overlooked issues such as taxes need to be reviewed separately
One of the first difficulties Koreans residing in the United States face when handling inheritance matters in Korea is that they simply do not know where the assets are or what assets exist. When a family member passes away in Korea, the heirs must verify bank deposits, insurance policies, securities accounts, real estate, and any unpaid taxes. For heirs living overseas, however, the process of checking with each Korean financial institution one by one, preparing the required documents, and coordinating with family members is not simple.
Fortunately, Korea already has a system in place that allows heirs to look up a deceased person's assets. Through the "Safe Inheritance One-Stop Service" (Ansim Sangsok One-Stop Service), heirs can check the deceased's key asset information all at once, including financial transactions, national taxes, local taxes, pensions, land, buildings, automobiles and so on. Heirs can apply at the same time they file the death report, or within a set period beginning from the last day of the month in which the death occurred, through Government24 (the government's online portal) or a local community service center.
The problem, however, is that "locate" assets and "receiving" them are two different things. Even after an heir learns which banks or financial companies hold the deceased's financial assets, actually inheriting those deposits or financial assets has often required visiting each financial institution separately. Because each institution requires slightly different documents, heirs have had to prepare and submit the same family relation certificates, powers of attorney, and other paperwork multiple times, and this inconvenience becomes an even greater burden for heirs residing overseas.
In this regards, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service signed a memorandum of understanding on June 18, 2026, to introduce an "Integrated Payout Service for Inherited Financial Assets." Once this service takes effect, an heir will be able to visit just one financial company, submit the documents needed for inheritance processing, and apply for an integrated payout. The submitted documents will then be shared among the relevant financial companies, and after each company completes its review, the inherited financial assets will be transferred to the account of the representative heir.
For Koreans overseas, this is undoubtedly a welcome change. It can reduce the burden of making repeated visits to individual financial institutions for those who find it difficult to schedule a trip to Korea, or in cases where co-heirs are scattered across several countries. It is likely to be especially helpful when parents held small deposits spread across multiple banks.
However, this system does not automatically resolve the entire Korean inheritance process. In order to actually receive inherited financial assets, it is still necessary to determine who the legal heirs are, each heir’s share of the estate, whether an agreement on the division of inherited property among the co-heirs is required, and whether a power of attorney or other supporting documents must be submitted.
The significance of this change is clear. The Korean government is moving one step beyond helping heirs "locate" inherited assets, and is now working to simplify the process of actually "receiving" them. This represents an important development for Koreans living overseas as well. However, the introduction of a more convenient system does not eliminate issues involving inheritance rights, required documentation, taxes, outstanding debts, or the need for agreement among co-heirs.
For Koreans whose lives span both Korea and the United States, it is important to take full advantage of these new procedures while also carefully reviewing the inheritance process as a whole.
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Jin Hee Lee/K-Law Consulting Korean Attorney
[Reference link in original Korean]
