Legitimate! Gay Couples In South Korea Get Health Insurance Allowance Through Supreme Court Decision

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - South Korea's Supreme Court upheld the decision of same-sex couples to be entitled to a partner's allowance from state health insurance.

The court confirmed the important Seoul High Court ruling earlier last year that the National Health Insurance Service should provide equivalent pair protection to So Sung-wook and Kim Yong-min, the gay couple who filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the agency after canceling their partner's allowance.

"I couldn't believe it when I heard the decision. I was very happy and started crying," Kim told Reuters outside the court, Thursday, July 18.

"It took four years to get this dependent status," he said.

"We have to fight harder to legalize same-sex marriage in the future," added Kim.

Chief Judge Jo Hee-de said he rejected partner allowances, although there is no clause in the national health insurance law that specifically refers to same-sex relationships, is discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"This is an act of discrimination that violates dignity and human values, the right to pursue happiness, freedom of privacy and the right to equality before the law, and the level of serious offenses," Judge Jo said in a televised hearing.

So and Kim refer to themselves as husband and wife, but their marriage is not legally recognized in South Korea.

Lawyers and advocates say the decision marks the first legal recognition of similar unions.

"With today's decision, the legal status of same-sex couples will be recognized in the public system, so I think the existence of same-sex couples will be more visible," Chang Suh-yeon, one of the lawyers representing the court. partner, said reporters.

Although the campaign to legalize same-sex marriage has been successful in Taiwan and Thailand, there is no legal recognition of the LGBTQ partnership in South Korea, thus forcing couples to move abroad if they want to legally marry.

The Supreme Court's decision is a "rock of stepping up" towards marriage equality, said Horim Yi, an activist in the LGBTQ campaign group, Marriage For All.

"This will be a hopeful decision for same-sex couples living in South Korea," Yi said.

Last year, the couple told Reuters they were open about their story to help "change people's opinion and help LGBTQ groups like we gather courage".

The conservative religious group in South Korea is fighting fiercely against efforts to pass laws promoting LGBTQ rights, prompting many to hide their identities in the workplace as they struggle for equal recognition and acceptance.

Ahead of the decision, members of conservative Christian groups staged demonstrations outside the court, waving banners that read "Sex-sex families are nonsense. Supreme Court, cancel the Seoul High Court decision!"