I-EUMLiving in Korea

When a family member passes away — reporting · registration cancellation · inheritance · pension

This page is machine translated from Ieumi's guide written in Korean. If the meaning is confusing, please look at the Korean original text. View original text (Korean)

The first thing to do is get several copies of the medical certificate. If the deceased was a Korean national, report the death within one month; if a foreigner, notify the embassy and the immigration office (출입국·외국인관서). Inheritance follows the law of the deceased's home country.

📌 Key points

If a Korean national dies, cohabiting family members must attach a medical certificate (or coroner's report) and report the death to the city/district/town/township office within 1 month from the day they learn of the death (Family Relations Registration Act Articles 84 and 85). If a foreigner dies, the immigration office (출입국·외국인관서) confirms the death using the medical certificate and cancels the alien registration (Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act, Article 47(1)(3)). You must notify your home country's embassy or consulate for the repatriation of remains and home country documents to proceed. Inheritance, in principle, follows the law of the deceased's home country at the time of death (Private International Act, Article 77).

🔢 Do these in order

  1. The hospital issues a death certificate (or a coroner's report if death occurred at home). Get several copies — you'll need them for the report, pension, insurance, and bank.
  2. If the deceased was a Korean national, report the death to the city/district/town/township office within 1 month. If a foreigner, notify the home country embassy and inform the immigration office (출입국·외국인관서) of the death. The alien registration is cancelled based on the medical certificate.
  3. If the deceased was enrolled in the National Pension, ask the National Pension Service (1355) about survivor pension or a lump-sum death payment. Survivor benefits are also considered when a foreign enrollee dies in Korea (National Pension Act Article 126(4)) — whether it applies is determined by the Service.
  4. Inheritance, in principle, follows the deceased's home country law. If there is a home, land, or savings in Korea, separate Korean court and bank procedures are needed, so ask the Korea Legal Aid Corporation (132) first.
  5. Inheritance tax must be reported within 6 months from the last day of the month in which the inheritance began. If the deceased or the heir has an address abroad, it is 9 months (Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act, Article 67).

📍 Where to go

Death report: city/district/town/township office · Foreigner death: immigration office (출입국·외국인관서, 1345) · Pension: National Pension Service 1355 · Inheritance consultation: Korea Legal Aid Corporation 132

💻 Do it online

Legal aid has income requirements. Eligibility is determined by the Corporation.

⚠️ Things to watch out for

Even if the deceased was a foreigner, if their habitual residence at the time of death was in Korea, or if there is inheritance property in Korea, Korean courts may have jurisdiction (Private International Act, Article 76). If a will designates the law of the habitual residence or the location of the real estate, that law may take precedence (Article 77(2)). The details vary by person and are not determined here.

❗ What happens if you don't

If reporting and registration cancellation are delayed, health insurance premium and tax bills will keep arriving in the deceased's name. Missing the inheritance tax filing deadline incurs an additional penalty tax.

See also

Basis

  • 가족관계의 등록 등에 관한 법률 제84조·제85조 — 법제처 원문(collected/law-family-register, 시행 2024-12-27) 대조 (법제처 국가법령정보센터 — 현행 시행 2026-10-02 판으로 2026-10-05 대조 · 2026 개정은 제14조뿐, 이 조문 그대로)
  • 출입국관리법 제37조 제2항 · 시행령 제46조·제47조 제1항 제3호 — 법제처 원문(collected/law-immigration, law-immigration-d) 대조
  • 국제사법 제76조·제77조 — 법제처 API 원문(MST 238791, 시행 2022-07-05) 2026-09-13 수집·대조
  • 상속세 및 증여세법 제67조 제1항·제4항 — 법제처 API 원문(MST 276123) 2026-09-13 수집·대조
  • 국민연금법 제80조·제126조 제4항 — 법제처 원문(collected/law-pension) 대조 · 2026-10-20 개정판(MST 291347)에서 외국인 유족연금 항이 제3항 → 제4항으로 밀림

This content was checked on 2026-10-31.

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