Personal ownership regulation under the North Korean Civil Code revised in 2024- focusing on the comparison of the provisions of the North Korean Civil Code before and after the amendment -

In this article, I would like to compare and give a glimpse of the provisions of personal ownership in Chapter 4 of the ownership system in Part 2 of the North Korean Civil Code revised in 2024. Chapter 4 of Part 2 first stipulates the nature and source of personal ownership (Article 133). In a socialist society, personal ownership reveals that it is owned by individual and consumption purposes for the means of consumption, and specifies what sources of consumption can be recognized as personal ownership. Subsequently, these sources list goods that can be subject to personal ownership (Article 134) as consumption means based on these sources, and stipulate the subject, the power of personal ownership, and the limitations of its exercise (Article 135). Articles 136, 137, and 138 stipulate the distinction between family property and individual property and joint ownership of family property as types of personal ownership that are characteristic of North Korean civil law. Regarding the protection of personal ownership, while stipulating the right to claim the return of the object (Article 139 paragraph 1), special rules on lost objects and articles are established (Article 139 paragraph 2). Finally, the protection of inheritance rights for personal property is stipulated in accordance with Article 24 paragraph 4 of the Constitution (Article 140). The fact that the basic source of individual ownership under North Korean civil law lies in the socialist distribution of labor indicates that individual ownership is closely linked to and derived from the socialist ownership of the state and social cooperative organizations. The purpose of the individual ownership system is to legally protect the individual ownership of workers. The material and cultural needs of workers are met with the significant objective of socialist and communist economic construction, which is directly realized by individually guaranteeing workers' consumption needs, and it is said that in order to guarantee independent economic growth to the people's public, workers' individual ownership must be fully realized. When enacting the Unification Civil Act, North Korean civil law that contradicts the basic liberal democratic order and has an element of governing relations as a socialist should be blocked from being applied by taking legislative measures that lose effect after unification. Even if there are similarities in appearance, such as recognition of good faith acquisition of personal ownership, regulations that reflect the governance relationship ideologically in its interpretation and application should be handled with care.