Former Wonju, gave 50% of his assets to his two sons: "If I give it all away in advance, I won't receive filial piety"

*This content was translated by AI.

Actor Wonju reveals that he has already gifted half of his assets in order to prevent inheritance disputes among his children after his death.

The MBC documentary program "PD Notebook," airing on the 6th, will feature an episode titled "Inheritance War: The Time of the Left-Behind Family."

Over the past year, 3,612 claims for division of inherited property were filed with courts nationwide. This is five times the number from about a decade ago, marking an all-time high. Inheritance disputes are no longer just a story for chaebols (large business conglomerates). Facing skyrocketing real estate prices, the homes and land built by parents have become opportunities that children cannot afford to miss, as well as sparks of conflict within families. Accordingly, "PD Notebook" met with several families standing on the front lines of inheritance disputes.

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Wonju sparked attention by sharing his surprising stock investment success story and voicing his concern, "Will my two sons fight over money when I'm gone?" When he met with reporters, he revealed his own realistic solution for inheritance. To prevent posthumous disputes, he has already gifted half of his assets. Nevertheless, he added a pointed piece of advice: "If I give it all away in advance, I won't receive filial piety," stating that one must hold onto the remaining half until the very end.

However, parents who plan their inheritance during their lifetime and speak openly with their families, like Wonju, are rare. Due to a culture that treats mentioning a parent's fate as taboo, it has been confirmed that fewer than 1% of the approximately 350,000 deaths per year involve leaving a notarized will.

"Dementia Money," referring to assets difficult to manage due to cognitive decline, is projected to increase from 154 trillion won in 2023 to 488 trillion won by 2050. As discussions on revising the Civil Code gain momentum in 2026, voices are emerging that inheritance systems must change to align with evolving family structures and realities.

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Jung Soo-yeon (pseudonym), a woman in her 70s, raised two children alone for over 20 years and was so devoted that she sent her daughter to study abroad. Both children were delighted by the news of their mother's remarriage in her twilight years, but happiness did not last. Soo-yeon (pseudonym) filed for divorce, citing repeated infidelity by her husband during their five-year marriage, and lung cancer struck amidst the conflict. Despite years of illness, her husband never once visited the hospital room. The first-instance ruling in the divorce lawsuit was unexpected: an order to give 11.5 million won in property division to the unfaithful husband. Soo-yeon (pseudonym) appealed out of a sense of injustice but passed away without seeing the final verdict.

After his wife died before the divorce was finalized, the husband claimed legal spousal status and demanded more than 70% of the inherited assets as his share, including two real estate properties that Soo-yeon had painstakingly acquired before her remarriage.

Although the "Goo Hara Law," which blocks inheritance by family members who abandoned their duty of support, has been enacted, the wall of reality remains high. This is because restricting inheritance rights amounts to restricting property rights under the Constitution, thus subjecting it to much stricter standards. The two children, whose grief had not yet subsided, filed a lawsuit for one reason only. It is not because they covet the assets. It is because they cannot hand over what their mother built over her lifetime to someone who completely ignored her. "PD Notebook" looks into the lonely battle of left-behind families standing before the loopholes in the Goo Hara Law.

◆ Families that went to court

In a rural village in North Gyeongsang Province, nine siblings split over 2,558 pyeong (approximately 8,463 square meters) of land left by their father. The eldest son, Park Dong-woo (pseudonym), lived with his parents for life and took charge of their care during illness. Even after his parents' deaths, he cultivated the rocky land into farmland and helped with major family events such as his siblings' marriages. No one in the family had ever raised an issue about the land. However, 32 years later, his younger brother Park Jae-kyung (pseudonym) filed a lawsuit claiming that the land should be divided equally according to the law. If he wins, the remaining eight siblings are expected to receive only about 20 million won each. However, with the start of the lawsuit, an irreparable rift had already formed between the siblings, and they have become estranged beyond recognition, not exchanging a single word despite living nearby.

In Gyeonggi Province, another legal dispute began over a three-story building. A notice to vacate the house arrived just two months after the father's death, stating that "ownership has changed," addressed to the mother and her son, Kim Sang-hoon (pseudonym), who had lived with their father for 50 years. It was revealed that three older sisters from his previous marriage had inherited the building. The mother and son did not even know of the will's existence. Moreover, the deceased had suffered from alcoholic dementia during his lifetime. Sang-hoon (pseudonym) filed a lawsuit to invalidate the will, arguing that his father was in a state where he could not express his true intent clearly, but without any way to verify the deceased's true wishes, the mother is on the verge of being left on the street as early as next month.

If parents do not leave clear intentions regarding their assets and inheritance during their lifetime, that void is filled by the conflicting memories and claims of the left-behind family. Ultimately, only after the parents are gone does the possibility arise for families to get entangled in a muddy fight over "the parents' wishes."

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*This content was translated by AI.