Filial duty law

William Shakespeare`s "King Lear" deals with a filial theme that transcends time and space. Before descending from his throne, King Lear asked his three daughters how much they loved him. The first and second daughters made flattering speeches about their love, while the youngest one honestly told her father that she loved him according to her bond to him. The king, who handed over his kingdom to the first two daughters but exiled the youngest daughter from it, was betrayed by the two daughters and had a miserable death.

The Chinese character "hyo (孝; filial devotion)" means that "offspring (子) serve the elderly (老)." The character "gyo (敎; teach)" is a combination of "孝" and "攵(bok; cane)." The character seems to mean that one who fails to honor his or her filial duty should be taught a lesson with a cane. Korea`s Goryeo and Joseon dynasties strictly punished those who were undutiful to their parents. The Goryeo dynasty jailed those who were insincere in serving their parents for two years, decapitated those who beat their parents and exiled those who beat their parents by mistake. Joseon`s law also had similar punitive clauses.

In 2012, China enacted a law called "Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly People," which called for punishing adult children who fail to visit or care for their ageing parents. The law also requires companies and work units to accept requests by their employees living separately from their parents if they request time off to make parental visits. Since the law took effect, more complaints have been filed by parents against their undutiful children. New businesses have popped up, offering to make parental visits on behalf of their customers. Also in Singapore, parents or the state can sue adult children who neglect their aging parents despite their financial capabilities. Violators can face fines or up to two years in prison.

South Korea`s Ministry of Justice and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy are seeking to enact a similar law by taking two approaches. One is to revise the Civil Code, making it easier for neglected parents to take back their assets inherited to their undutiful children, while the other is to rewrite the Criminal Code to strengthen the punishment of those who beat their parents. It is deplorable to live in a reality, in which even the traditional virtue of filial devotion should be made a law, as the livelihood becomes more difficult and the elderly poverty issues become more serious. With an eye to elder votes in next year`s parliamentary elections, the opposition party is poised to make all-out efforts to enact the law before the end of this year. Even if the law is made, can forced care of parents be called true filial devotion?