The Seoul High Court ruled on Tuesday that state health insurance companies must provide spouse coverage to same-sex couples, in a ruling that lawyers and advocates said marked the first legal recognition of same-sex unions in South Korea.
The ruling overturned a lower court ruling that relied on same-sex couples not being eligible for benefits provided to other common-law couples by the National Health Insurance Service.
Ryu Min-hee, a lawyer for the plaintiff couple said the Supreme Court’s decision is “the first recognition of the legal status of same-sex couples.”
The couple, So Sung-wook and Kim Yong-min, said in a statement: “We are very happy. This is not only a victory but also a victory for many same-sex 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 insurance company on the grounds that same-sex unions cannot be considered a common-law marriage under current law.
According to Ryu, the appeals court said that the spousal coverage system under the state health insurance scheme is not only for families as defined by law, and does not give rights to people of the same sex as discrimination.
Protecting the rights of minorities is the “greatest responsibility” of the judiciary as it is the “last bastion” of human rights, the court added.
The National Health Insurance Service said it would file an appeal with the Supreme Court – the highest court of appeals. South Korea also has a Constitutional Court that hears appeals on constitutional matters.
“This is an important decision that brings South Korea closer to achieving marriage equality,” said Boram Jang, Amnesty International’s East Asia researcher, adding that prejudice against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community is possible. defeated.
Source: Reuters
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