South Korea Court Approves Health Benefits for Same-Sex Couples

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Facts

• The Supreme Court of South Korea ruled Thursday that same-sex couples are entitled to the same dependent coverage through the national health insurance program as straight couples. South Korea does not recognize same-sex marriage.¹
• The ruling will require the insurance provider to extend coverage to 'same-sex partners who have formed an economic community of life similar to a married couple.'²
• So Seong-wook and Kim Yong-min filed a suit in 2021 against the National Health Insurance Service after their spousal benefits were canceled. The court rejected the claims that the two were a common-law couple, but found they qualify for benefits in an arrangement 'tantamount' to marriage.¹
• Chief Justice Jo Hee-de said that the denial of benefits, while violating principles of equality, also contravened 'the right to pursue happiness [and] freedom of privacy.' Same-sex marriages are outlawed in South Korea, but same-sex relations are not criminally sanctioned.³
• A November Pew Research poll found that 41% of South Koreans support the legalization of same-sex marriage, which makes it ninth in a list of 12 countries and regions, with Japan at the top with 68% and Indonesia last with 5%.⁴

Sources: ¹New York Times, ²France 24, ³Al Jazeera and ⁴Bloomberg.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by New York Times. While this is a huge victory, South Korea still lags well behind other wealthy countries in terms of protections for the LGBTQ+ community. A small but active group of Christian organizations have been able to stymie any progress toward equality in recent years, but this ruling may show that the right of same-sex couples to live as equals cannot be ignored any longer.
• Right narrative, as provided by Dw.Com. This ruling was very narrowly tailored, and does not change the status quo in South Korea. Polling shows that most Koreans do not support same-sex marriage, and it is up to the people, not Western NGOs and the media, to dictate when and if South Korea extends that privilege to gay couples. The socially conservative nature of Korean society must be respected.