Renumbered references and a changed definition of being determined a victim: what the May 2026 amendment to the Rules on Handling Family Relationship Registration Affairs under the Framework Act on Past Affairs for Truth and Reconciliation changes

What changed

These Rules set the procedure for preparing a family relationship register or correcting an entry in one (Article 1). Before the amendment, Article 1 cited Article 37-2 of the Framework Act on Past Affairs for Truth and Reconciliation as the source of that work; Article 2 made the subject matter the content that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, named in Article 3(1) of that Act, had decided under Article 37-2 about preparing or correcting a register; and Article 3 let the victim, defined as a person determined to be a victim by the Committee under Article 37-2, or a relative of the victim within the range of relatives under Article 777 of the Civil Act, apply.

Supreme Court Regulation No. 3256, promulgated and in force on 6 May 2026, carries over the Framework Act's renumbering. Articles 1 and 2 now cite Article 52 of that Act in place of Article 37-2, and Article 2 cites Article 4(1) in place of Article 3(1) for the Committee. In Article 3 the reference moves to Article 4(2), and the definition of a victim turns on a person 'determined to be a victim' by a 'truth determination decision', where the earlier wording referred to a person determined to be a victim through truth determination (진실규명된). The official reason gives the aim as reflecting changes in the Framework Act's numbering and improving gaps found in running the system. The annexed forms are replaced as set out in the annex, but the pack does not reproduce them. This note has not read the Framework Act or Article 777 of the Civil Act.

What to read in the text

The addendum states one rule only: the Regulation enters into force on the day of promulgation, which the National Law Information Center records as 6 May 2026. It says nothing about applications filed before that day, about determinations made under the earlier wording, and it sets out no transitional measure.

A file should therefore show the Committee's decision under Article 52 of the Framework Act on preparing or correcting the register, the determination of victim status referred to in Article 4(2) of that Act, and, where the applicant is not the victim, that the applicant falls within the range of relatives under Article 777 of the Civil Act.

Questions for the legislature

Article 3 now defines a victim as a person 'determined to be a victim' by the Committee under 'Article 4(2) of the Act' through a 'truth determination decision'. Neither the amendment text, the addendum nor the official reason says whether a determination made under the earlier wording, before 6 May 2026, comes within the new definition. Does the new wording reach a determination already made before the amendment took effect?

The amendment text also orders that 'the annexed forms be as in the annex'. The pack does not reproduce those forms, and neither the addendum nor the official reason addresses filings already made on the earlier forms. Must a family registry office accept an application filed on the previous forms on or after 6 May 2026?

When to revisit

We revisit this note if the renumbered provisions of the Framework Act on Past Affairs for Truth and Reconciliation or the annexed forms are read against these Rules, if guidance is issued on earlier victim determinations or on filings made on the superseded forms, or if a further amendment addresses them.