Court Rules Double Property Distribution for Men in Clan is Gender Discrimination

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Recently, a clan decided to distribute billions of won in land compensation differently based on gender, offering up to twice as much to men. The dispute ultimately led to a legal battle, and the court ruled the decision invalid.

Reporter Jo Yoon-ha has the details.

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This is land in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, previously owned by Clan A.

In June of last year, approximately 74,000 square meters of the land were incorporated into a military facility site, resulting in 7.8 billion won in compensation.

After deducting taxes and expenses, 3.9 billion won was scheduled to be distributed among some 200 clan members.

The clan's board of directors decided to give 30 million won to first-generation male descendants, 20 million won to second-generation males, and 15 million won to third-generation males, while allocating 15 million won to female members regardless of generation.

[Clan A General Meeting (March) : The first generation of males are the heads of household supporting their families, the roots of the family, and those who lead the clan. They are the roots that lead the household.]

Clans are classified as private organizations, meaning criteria for property distribution are not stipulated in the Civil Act or other laws.

The distribution criterion put forward by the clan was their "contribution to the clan."

[Chairman of Clan A : Isn't there a problem in giving the same amount to someone who continually participated in grave mowing or ancestral rites as someone who didn't? Women who have married out go to live diligently in those households. (Times have changed a lot.) Because times have changed, we are giving them this much.]

Female clan members protested.

[Person B / Female Clan Member : No matter what, it feels like treating us the same as a snot-nosed grandson, and it hurts my pride.]

They stated they had never even been contacted to come for grave mowing or ancestral rites.

[Person C / Female Clan Member : We protested that this was discrimination. They told us that if such conflict arises, they wouldn't make the distribution at all.]

Female clan members filed an injunction for suspension of effect with the court, and the court ruled that the clan's resolution was invalid due to substantive flaws.

The court stated in its ruling, "The distribution proposal is merely discrimination based on gender and cannot be deemed to have a rational basis."

[Shin Chae-eun / Lawyer : The status of female clan members and male clan members is becoming increasingly equal, and female clan members must not be discriminated against without rational reason simply because they are women.]

In response to the court's decision, the clan stated, "We plan to withdraw the differential distribution plan based on gender," adding, "We are considering a plan to uniformly pay 15 million won."

(Video footage taken by Lee Byung-joo, Lim Woo-shik, Joo Yong-jin | Video edited by Jeon Min-gyu)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.