South Korea Supreme Court recognises rights of same-sex couple in landmark ruling.
The Supreme Court recognised new rights for same-sex couples Thursday, saying the state must provide health insurance for a gay man’s partner.
The verdict, which cannot be appealed as it comes from the country’s highest court, means common-law spouses of the same sex can now register as dependents on their partners’ health insurance.
“It is discrimination based on sexual orientation to exclude the couple just because they are same-sex,” the court ruled.
“It is a discriminatory act that violates human dignity and values, the right to pursue happiness, freedom of privacy, and the right to be equal before the law, and the degree of infringement is serious.”
The case was brought by a gay couple, So Seong-wook and Kim Yong-min, who live together and held a wedding ceremony in 2019.
It had no legal validity, however, as South Korea does not recognise same-sex marriage.
In 2021, So sued the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) because it terminated benefits for his partner — whom he had registered as a dependent — after discovering they were a gay couple.
In a landmark ruling last year, a Seoul High Court found in favour of the couple, mandating that the NHIS reinstate the dependent benefits.
The service, which grants spousal coverage benefits to common-law partners, appealed the decision, escalating the case to the Supreme Court.