SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea could be moving toward a significant change in one of its most deeply rooted family traditions, after ruling-party lawmakers introduced legislation that would give parents more flexibility in deciding whether their child takes the mother’s surname.
The proposed amendment would allow married couples to make that decision when registering the child’s birth, rather than requiring them to settle the issue at the time they register their marriage.
The bill, introduced by Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Park Ju-min and 14 other lawmakers, targets Article 781 of the Civil Act. It does not abolish the current father-surname principle. Instead, it would expand the window in which parents can agree to use the mother’s surname.
The proposal could nevertheless mark an important shift in South Korea’s long-running debate over family names, gender equality and how the law recognizes modern families.
What would actually change?
Under the current Civil Act, a child generally takes the father’s surname and family origin.
There is already an exception: parents can agree that the child will take the mother’s surname, but that agreement must be made when they register their marriage.
The proposed legislation would leave that basic framework intact while adding another opportunity.
Parents could agree on the mother’s surname either:
- when registering their marriage; or
- when registering the child’s birth.
That distinction is crucial.
The proposal does not mean that every newborn would automatically receive the mother’s surname. Nor does it eliminate the father’s surname as the default under the current system.
Instead, it would give parents another point at which to make the choice.
Why lawmakers say the current system is outdated
Park and his fellow lawmakers argue that the existing timing requirement creates a practical problem.
Couples are required to decide the surname of a future child at the time of marriage registration—even though they may not yet know whether they will have children or when a child might be born.
The lawmakers said the gap between marriage registration and childbirth can be substantial, making it difficult for parents to have a meaningful discussion about a child’s surname before the child even exists.
Their proposal therefore seeks to move the decision closer to the moment when the issue becomes real: the child’s birth.
Park described the proposed change as a way to strengthen parents’ actual freedom of choice and more fully reflect the constitutional principle of gender equality in marriage and family life.
But the father-surname rule would remain
This is where the proposal could easily be misunderstood.
The bill does not replace South Korea’s father-surname default with a completely neutral parental-choice system.
The existing principle would remain: a child generally follows the father’s surname unless the parents agree otherwise.
The change would concern when that agreement can be made.
That means headlines suggesting that South Korea has already abolished the father-surname system would be inaccurate.
The legislation is a proposed amendment and would still have to go through the legislative process before becoming law.
South Korea has debated this issue for years
The latest proposal is not the first attempt to revisit the country’s surname system.
During the administration of former President Moon Jae-in, the government’s Fourth Basic Plan for Healthy Families included a proposal to move away from the father-surname principle toward a system based on parental agreement. That effort, however, did not result in a legislative change.
The issue later reached the Constitutional Court.
In 2022, the Ministry of Justice argued that the existing system did not violate constitutional rights. Among the concerns cited were the possibility of siblings having different surnames and the traditional social significance attached to family names. The ministry also said broader social discussion and consensus would be needed before pursuing major legislative reform.
That history shows why the latest bill could generate debate far beyond the technical wording of a Civil Act amendment.
Why surnames carry unusual weight in Korea
In South Korea, surnames are closely connected to family identity and bon-gwan, or the ancestral origin associated with a surname.
The country’s traditional family system historically placed considerable emphasis on paternal lineage. Although the family-head system was abolished and the law has evolved, the father’s surname remains the default under Article 781.
The law already contains circumstances in which a child can take the mother’s surname.
For example, where parents agree to use the mother’s surname at marriage registration, that choice is legally permitted. Korean law also provides for the mother’s surname in certain circumstances involving a foreign father or when the father is unknown.
The new proposal would therefore expand an existing option rather than create the concept from scratch.
Supporters see a gender-equality issue
Supporters of reform argue that the current structure places the burden of proof on parents who want their child to use the mother’s surname.
Because the decision must currently be made when the marriage is registered, the choice is effectively tied to an event that occurs before the birth of a child.
The proposed amendment would give parents a second opportunity to reach an agreement after the child is actually born.
Lawmakers behind the proposal say that could make the existing choice more meaningful while advancing equality between mothers and fathers.
Critics have raised family-name concerns before
Opposition to broader reform has historically focused on questions surrounding family unity and social convention.
The Ministry of Justice previously pointed to concerns that a more flexible surname system could result in siblings having different surnames and could weaken the traditional role of surnames in identifying family relationships.
Those concerns could return as the latest proposal moves through the National Assembly.
The debate is therefore likely to involve more than gender equality.
It could also touch on questions about children’s identity, family traditions, administrative systems and whether Korean law should continue to preserve a paternal default.
What happens next?
The proposal is not yet a change in the law.
Park and 14 other Democratic Party lawmakers filed the amendment last week, according to The Korea Times. It must proceed through the legislative process before it can take effect.
For now, South Korea’s existing rule remains in place: the father’s surname is the default, while parents who want their child to take the mother’s surname can currently make that agreement when registering their marriage.
If the amendment eventually passes, however, couples would no longer have to make that decision before they even know whether or when they will have a child.
They would get another chance at the moment a baby enters the family.
And that seemingly small change could reignite one of South Korea’s biggest debates about tradition, equality and what a family name should mean in modern Korean society.
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