A South Korean appeals court today issued a landmark ruling in favor of a same-sex couple who were seeking the same health coverage for themselves that National Health Insurance provides to heterosexual couples, the only type of union that the Asian country recognizes.
It is the first time that a South Korean court has recognized the rights of a gay couple.
The Seoul High Court, which did not provide any specific reasons for its decision, thus reversed the 2022 verdict of a lower court which had established that by considering marriage in South Korea only as a union between a man and a woman, there is no legal existence. reasons for extending this coverage to same-sex couples.
In February 2021, So Seong-wook filed an administrative complaint against the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS).
In 2020, the NHIS originally granted cover as a dependent to So based on the health insurance scheme he provides to his partner, Kim Yong-min, his workplace and so both became the first same-sex couple to be included under this provision.
However, the institution rectified eight months later and asked So to pay the fee for his single status, as he was not considered a dependent of his partner.
Following a verdict to the contrary by a Seoul administrative court in January last year, So immediately appealed the ruling.
So and Kim held a wedding ceremony in 2019 and have been living together ever since, but South Korea does not recognize their union as a marriage.
“This decision is significant because it is the first decision to legally recognize same-sex couples by any court in South Korea,” Amnesty International (AI) researcher Jang Bo-ram said in a statement. .
“This is an important decision that brings South Korea closer to marriage equality. There is still a long way to go to end discrimination against the LGTBI community, but the decision gives us hope for the end of prejudice,” he added.