Article 809 of the Korean Civil Code

[2] Traditionally, men and women who have the same surnames and "ancestral homes", called dongseong dongbon (동성동본; 同姓同本), are not permitted to marry.

The rule, called honinbeop (혼인법; 婚姻法), originated in China,[3] and can be traced back at least to the late Joseon period.

The Korean Legal Aid Center for Family Relations established a special report and counselling facility for couples subject to Article 809.

Article 809 has been much criticised by family lawyers and the Korean Law Association on the ground that it infringes on the freedom of choice in marriage, and that it reinforces traditional paternalism.

The court held that Article 809(1) was incompatible with the Constitution and that if the National Assembly did not amend it by 31 December 1998, it would become null and void, commencing on 1 January 1999.

In accordance with this declaration, the Supreme Court of Korea announced new family registration procedures for the applications filed by couples sharing surname and ancestral home before the revision.

The first dissenting opinion emphasized that marriage should be publicly recognised through social norms such as customs, morals, and religion, and dismissed individual freedom as relatively unimportant.

[12] In the face of fierce opposition from Confucian groups, Article 809 was excluded from the bill by the Sub-committee on Law of the National Assembly, despite the 31 December 1998 deadline imposed by the Constitutional Court.

On 17 December 1999, the Sub-committee stated that:In view of the national sentiment which places a great deal of importance on bloodline the abolition of the law prohibiting marriages between people with the same surnames and same ancestral seats is premature.

In the context of the above law, the term degree, called chon (촌; 寸) in Korean, refers to the distance of kinship between two persons.