South Korean court recognises same-sex couple's rights

A South Korean court delivered a landmark ruling on Tuesday recognising the rights of a samesex couple for the first time with activists hailing the verdict as a major victory for LGBTQ rights in the countryThe case which will now go to the Supreme Court was brought by a gay couple So Seongwook and Kim Yongmin who live together and held a wedding ceremony in 2019It had no legal validity however as South Korea does not recognise samesex marriageIn 2021 So sued the National Health Insurance Service because it terminated benefits for his partner whom he had registered as a dependent after discovering they were a gay coupleA lower court ruled in favour of the NHIS last year but in a significant turnaround the High Court in Seoul overturned that decision on Tuesday effectively ordering the insurance provider to resume benefits to Sos partner as a dependentWe are delighted It is not only our victory but also a victory for many samesex couples and LGBTQ families in Korea the couple said after the ruling according to their lawyer Park HanheeThe court ruled that the NHIS did not provide substantiating rational reasons for treating samesex unions differently from commonlaw marriages a copy of the verdict provided to AFP by Park showedThe NHIS grants spousal coverage benefits to commonlaw partnersAnyone can be a minority and being a minority simply means different from the majority not being wrong or incorrect the ruling saidAlso Read Biden in Kyiv to show solidarity as Ukraine war nears one yearIt is acknowledged that the discriminatory practice seen in this case violates the principle of equalityThe NHIS told AFP it will appealThis ruling is significant as the first decision legally recognising samesex couples to be made by a court at any level in South Korea Jang Boram of Amnesty International said in a statementThough South Korea still has a long way to end discrimination this ruling offers hope that prejudice can be overcomeWhile the country does not recognise samesex marriages gay relationships are not criminalised LGBTQ people tend to live largely under the radarActivists have long emphasised the need for legislation against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientationA muchdiscussed antidiscrimination law has languished in the South Korean parliament for years due to a lack of consensus among MPsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever