부양의무위반의 형사적 규제에 관한 비교법적 연구 - 독일과 오스트리아의 제도를 중심으로 -

Abstract

In Korean Civil Law, a person who has a family is under obligation to support them. However he is not punishable, even if he doesn’t fulfill such a duty. The reason is that there is no penal provision for this conduct in Korean Criminal Law. There are people whose rights to live is threatened without the fulfillment of such a duty. Most of the people entitled to maintenance are often socially weak. They are children, divorced women, and aged parents. They should be legally protected from this menace. A person who does not fulfill such a legal obligation in Austria or Germany is punished. The punishment plays an important role in the society, as it is both justifiable und necessary. The reason being, failure to fulfill such an obligation is not a case of a simple debt, rather, to persons without a livelihood, it is a menace to their right to live. In order to criminalize the failure to fulfill family obligations, provisions concerning obligations to support family in Korean Civil Law should be revised. This criminalizing is based on the premise that the law makes sufficient provision for family support. The present Korean Civil Law has many insufficient provisions. The introduction of this punishment will stimulate the fulfillment of such obligations und will protect many dependants from this menace.