Open Decision Ledger · Tax & international taxation
Heirs of a non-resident limited to the value of domestic inheritance property
Supreme Court, Sept. 12, 2024, 2022Du64143 (judgment)
Case name: 양도소득세등부과처분취소[국내 소재 상속재산가액을 초과하여 상속세를 부과한 사건]
Official text on the National Law Information Center
Question
Where the decedent was a non-resident, does 'the property each heir received or will receive' in Article 3-2(1) and (3) of the former Inheritance and Gift Tax Act include foreign inheritance property that is not subject to inheritance tax?
Holding
It does not. Article 3 of the former Act distinguishes a resident decedent, whose entire inheritance property is taxed, from a non-resident decedent, whose domestic inheritance property alone is taxed, and Article 13(2) likewise adds only pre-death gifts of domestic property where a non-resident's death opens the succession. The phrase 'the property each heir received or will receive' fixes each heir's own payment obligation and the limit of the joint obligation by reference to the taxable inheritance property alone, which is fixed only after the value is assessed, debts and the like are deducted and the result is divided into shares. Foreign property outside the tax base therefore cannot enter it, so the assessment was unlawful to the extent it exceeded the value of the domestic deposit claim.
Summary of the holding, verbatim
위에서 본 법리와 관련 규정의 문언, 체계 및 취지 등을 종합하면, 피상속인이 비거주자인 경우 구 상증세법 제3조의2 제1항 및 제3항의 ‘상속인 각자가 받았거나 받을 재산’에는 상속세 과세대상인 ‘국내에 있는 상속재산’만 포함된다고 보아야 하고, 상속세 과세대상이 되지 않는 ‘국외에 있는 상속재산’까지 포함된다고 볼 수는 없다.
Unofficial English translation
Taking the legal principle seen above together with the text, structure and purport of the relevant provisions, where the decedent is a non-resident, "the property each heir has received or is to receive" under Article 3-2, paragraph (1) and paragraph (3) of the former Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act must be regarded as including only "inherited property located in Korea" that is subject to inheritance tax, and it cannot be regarded as including even "inherited property located outside Korea" that is not subject to inheritance tax.
Disposition
Dismissed Stated in the decision
상고를 기각한다. 상고비용은 피고가 부담한다.
Unofficial English translation
The appeal is dismissed. The costs of the final appeal shall be borne by the defendant.
Form of the test
Circumstances weighed Stated in the decision
위에서 본 법리와 관련 규정의 문언, 체계 및 취지 등을 종합하면
Unofficial English translation
Taking the legal principle seen above together with the text, structure and purport of the relevant provisions,
Factors
- 피상속인이 거주자인 경우와 비거주자인 경우를 구분하여 상속세 과세대상을 달리 정하고 있다
- 비거주자의 사망으로 인하여 상속이 개시되는 경우에는 국내에 있는 재산을 증여한 경우에만
- 상속세 과세대상이 되는 상속재산을 기초로 산출한 상속세 총액에 대하여
- 상속인 각자가 받았거나 받을 재산을 기준으로 상속인 고유의 상속세 납세의무와 연대납부의무를 정하고 있다
- 상속세 과세대상이 되는 상속재산을 구 상증세법에 따라 평가한 재산가액에서 채무 등을 공제하는 과정을 거쳐 이를 상속분으로 나누어야 비로소 확정된다
Unofficial English translation
• it separately prescribes the property subject to inheritance tax, distinguishing between cases in which the decedent is a resident and cases in which the decedent is a non-resident
• where inheritance is commenced by the death of a non-resident, only where property located in Korea is gifted
• with respect to the total amount of inheritance tax calculated on the basis of the inherited property subject to inheritance tax
• it determines each heir's own obligation to pay inheritance tax and joint and several obligation to pay, on the basis of the property each heir has received or is to receive
• it is not finally determined until, after going through the process of deducting debts, etc. from the value of the inherited property subject to inheritance tax as valued under the former Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act, such property is divided into the shares of inheritance
Relation to precedent
Follows earlier decisions Stated in the decision
대법원 2001. 11. 13. 선고 2000두3221 판결 참조
Unofficial English translation
See Supreme Court Decision 2000Du3221 decided November 13, 2001.
Decisions referred to
대법원 2001. 11. 13. 선고 2000두3221 판결(공2002상, 92)
Burden of proof
Not addressed Not in the decision
Open question and revisit condition
Where debts attach to the foreign property of a non-resident's estate, can any of those debts be deducted from the value of the domestic inheritance property before each heir's share is fixed?
Any amendment to Article 3, Article 3-2 or Article 13 of the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act governing non-residents would require this entry to be read again, as would a later Supreme Court decision on the same provisions. A finding that the decedent was in fact a resident would remove the question altogether.
Cross-family AI independent reading & axis check
7 of 8 axes matched GPT-6 Astra (OpenAI, codex CLI) · 2026-10-25
A reader from another model family (GPT-6 Astra), given the official text but not the primary reading, agreed on 7 of the 8 axes; the readings differed on axis 4 (form of the test).
Axis 4 (Form of the test): Primary “Circumstances weighed” vs Independent “Elements stated”
The primary reads the holding as a holistic weighing of text, structure and purpose, while the independent reading treats it as a sequence of requirements: value the property, deduct debts, then divide by shares.
‘상속인 각자가 받았거나 받을 재산’은 상속세 과세대상이 되는 상속재산을 구 상증세법에 따라 평가한 재산가액에서 채무 등을 공제하는 과정을 거쳐 이를 상속분으로 나누어야 비로소 확정된다.Raw responses and comparison record: Protocol · Blind readings (JSONL) · Axis comparison (JSONL) · SHA-256 (JSON)
Lower-court contrast & scope of application
Lower-court reading vs. Supreme Court holding
Lower-court context: The Seoul High Court, in its judgment of 28 September 2022 (2021Nu40876), held on the same reasoning that where the decedent was a non-resident an heir's obligation to pay inheritance tax arises only within the value of the domestic inheritance property, so the part of the assessment against the plaintiff exceeding the value of the domestic deposit claim of KRW 744,974 was unlawful.
Supreme Court standard: The Supreme Court found no error. It read the appellate reasons against the provisions, the established law and the record, and held that the court below had not misread the law on Articles 3 and 3-2 of the former Act. The Justices unanimously dismissed the appeal and put the costs on the defendant.
Distinguishing conditions
- A succession opened by the death of a resident decedent, since all inheritance property is then subject to inheritance tax and the domestic and foreign distinction falls away.
- Pre-death gifts of property situated in Korea added under Article 13 of the former Act, since those gifts form part of the taxable amount for a non-resident as well.
- The stage of fixing each heir's share, which the Court described as the point at which the property each heir received is determined, after debts and the like are deducted.
Record verification notes
Establish first whether the decedent was a resident or a non-resident at the date of death, since that single fact sets the tax base under Article 3. Then match each item of property, and each pre-gift added under Article 13, against the domestic and foreign line, and check which version of the Act applied to a death on 14 July 2016. The rule fixes the ceiling on each heir's liability; it does not by itself settle the total tax, which the tax authority computed here by adding KRW 1,427,051,000 of pre-gifts.
From the official text
Points at issue
구 상속세 및 증여세법 제3조의2 제1항, 제3항에서 정한 ‘상속인 각자가 받았거나 받을 재산’을 확정하는 방법 / 피상속인이 비거주자인 경우, 구 상속세 및 증여세법 제3조의2 제1항 및 제3항의 ‘상속인 각자가 받았거나 받을 재산’에 상속세 과세대상이 되지 않는 ‘국외에 있는 상속재산’이 포함되는지 여부(소극)
Unofficial English translation
The method of determining "the property each heir has received or is to receive" as provided in Article 3-2, paragraph (1) and paragraph (3) of the former Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act / Whether, where the decedent is a non-resident, "the property each heir has received or is to receive" under Article 3-2, paragraph (1) and paragraph (3) of the former Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act includes "inherited property located outside Korea" that is not subject to inheritance tax (negative)
Summary of the holding
구 상속세 및 증여세법(2016. 12. 20. 법률 제14388호로 개정되기 전의 것, 이하 ‘구 상증세법’이라 한다) 제3조는, 제1호에서 ‘피상속인이 거주자인 경우에는 모든 상속재산에 대하여 상속세를 부과한다.’고 규정하고, 제2호에서 ‘피상속인이 비거주자인 경우에는 국내에 있는 상속재산에 대하여 상속세를 부과한다.’고 규정하여, 피상속인이 거주자인 경우와 비거주자인 경우를 구분하여 상속세 과세대상을 달리 정하고 있다. 구 상증세법 제13조는, 제1항에서 ‘상속개시일 전 10년 이내에 피상속인이 상속인에게 증여한 재산가액’(제1호)과 ‘상속개시일 전 5년 이내에 피상속인이 상속인이 아닌 자에게 증여한 재산가액’(제2호)을 상속재산의 가액에 가산하여 상속세 과세가액을 산정하도록 규정하고, 제2항에서 ‘비거주자의 사망으로 인하여 상속이 개시되는 경우에는 국내에 있는 재산을 증여한 경우에만 위 제1, 2호의 사전 증여재산가액을 상속재산의 가액에 가산한다.’고 규정하여, 피상속인이 거주자인 경우와 비거주자인 경우를 구분하여 상속세 과세가액 산정방법을 달리 정하고 있다. 구 상증세법 제3조의2는, 제1항에서 ‘상속인은 상속재산(제13조에 따라 상속재산에 가산하는 증여재산 중 상속인이나 수유자가 받은 증여재산을 포함한다) 중 각자가 받았거나 받을 재산을 기준으로 대통령령으로 정하는 비율에 따라 계산한 금액을 상속세로 납부할 의무가 있다.’고 규정하고, 제3항에서 ‘제1항에 따른 상속세는 상속인 각자가 받았거나 받을 재산을 한도로 연대하여 납부할 의무를 진다.’고 규정하여, 상속세 과세대상이 되는 상속재산을 기초로 산출한 상속세 총액에 대하여 상속인 각자가 받았거나 받을 재산을 기준으로 상속인 고유의 상속세 납세의무와 연대납부의무를 정하고 있다. 여기서 말하는 ‘상속인 각자가 받았거나 받을 재산’은 상속세 과세대상이 되는 상속재산을 구 상증세법에 따라 평가한 재산가액에서 채무 등을 공제하는 과정을 거쳐 이를 상속분으로 나누어야 비로소 확정된다. 위에서 본 법리와 관련 규정의 문언, 체계 및 취지 등을 종합하면, 피상속인이 비거주자인 경우 구 상증세법 제3조의2 제1항 및 제3항의 ‘상속인 각자가 받았거나 받을 재산’에는 상속세 과세대상인 ‘국내에 있는 상속재산’만 포함된다고 보아야 하고, 상속세 과세대상이 되지 않는 ‘국외에 있는 상속재산’까지 포함된다고 볼 수는 없다.
Order
상고를 기각한다. 상고비용은 피고가 부담한다.
Unofficial English translation
The appeal is dismissed. The costs of the final appeal shall be borne by the defendant.
Provisions referred to
구 상속세 및 증여세법(2016. 12. 20. 법률 제14388호로 개정되기 전의 것) 제3조, 제3조의2 제1항, 제3항, 제13조
Read 2026-10-25 · Cross-read 2026-10-25. All quotes matched against the official text. The Chinese-character placeholders the court used for anonymised parties are given in their Korean readings, and parenthetical Chinese-character glosses are omitted.
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