An Equal Right to Inherit? Inheritance Rights and Gendered Intergenerational Transfers in South Korea, 1971–2010

Despite amendments to inheritance laws aimed at promoting gender equality in many countries, the effectiveness of gender-equal inheritance rights remains uncertain. This study focuses on South Korea, which reformed inheritance rights toward gender equality in 1991. The research uses data from two nationwide household surveys to examine intergenerational transfers (inheritance and inter vivos gifts) over a 40-year span (1971–2010) and categorizes three groups on the basis of when the heirs’ father died: before reform, shortly after reform, and long after reform. Results reveal that the gender gap in intergenerational transfers did not narrow—even after reform—among the small number of individuals who reported receiving inheritance or gifts. Inter vivos gifts became a more prevalent method of passing wealth to sons shortly after reform. Equal legal shares also proved ineffective in dividing inheritance, as many households continued to experience unequal division through wills and family negotiations. These findings highlight that eliminating discriminatory clauses in inheritance laws is just the initial step toward achieving gender equality in intergenerational transfers, with norms and cultural contexts often taking precedence over legal reforms.