South Korean court grants legal status to same-sex couple in landmark ruling

By Soo-hyang Choi

SEOUL, Feb 21 (Reuters) – The Seoul High Court ruled on Tuesday that the state health insurer must provide spousal coverage to a same-sex couple, in a ruling that lawyers and lawyers say marks the first legal recognition of homosexual union. in South Korea.

The decision overturned a lower court ruling that a same-sex dependent was not eligible for benefits that the National Health Insurance Service offered to other common-law spouses.

Ryu Min-hee, a lawyer for the complainant couple, said the High Court’s decision was the “first recognition of the legal status of a same-sex couple”.

The couple, So Sung-wook and Kim Yong-min, said in a statement, “We are delighted. This is not only our victory, but also that of many gay couples and LGBTQ families in Korea.”

The plaintiff, So Sung-wook, filed a lawsuit against the National Health Insurance Service in 2021 after being denied spousal benefits, but a lower court ruled in favor of the insurer on the grounds that a homosexual union could not be considered a trade union, in fact according to the legislation in force.

According to Ryu, the appeals court said that the system of state health insurance spousal coverage was not restricted to families, as defined by law, and that failure to provide spousal coverage rights to people living in same-sex relationships was discriminatory.

Protecting minority rights is the court’s “greatest responsibility” as the “last bastion” of human rights, the court added.

The National Health Insurance Service said it would appeal to the Supreme Court, the highest court for litigation. South Korea also has the Constitutional Court, which handles appeals on constitutional issues.

“This is an important decision that brings South Korea closer to achieving equality in marriage,” said Boram Jang, East Asia researcher at Amnesty International, adding that she offers hope that community prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) groups.

(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; Editing in Spanish by Benjamín Mejías Valencia)