Same-sex couples in South Korea finally enjoy same-spousal insurance coverage
When it comes to the LGBTQ+ community, many countries around the world have started practicing inclusivity. And now it looks like most of them are upping their game by giving the community their overdue rights and status. For the first time, Seoul High Court in South Korea gave homosexual couples a legal status, setting an example for many other nations to follow suit.
Same-sex couples are now entitled to get spouse coverage
Homosexuals in South Korea can finally rejoice as a court in the country ruled that same-sex couples are eligible to get same-spousal coverage in the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), as heterosexual couples. With this historic move, they have recognized the legal status of a gay partner. The ruling comes after a higher court rejected a lower court's ruling.
The principle of equality is an important issue: So Seong-wook
After being denied health insurance coverage for his partner Kim Yongmin in 2021, So Seong-wook sued NHIS and challenged their decision. This happened when the couple was granted coverage at first but was revoked soon as NHIS said "they had made a mistake in granting it to the same-sex couple." "The principle of equality is an important issue," So Seong-wook told to BBC.
The lower court had previously rejected their petition
In January, the lower court in question rejected their petition about legalizing their status. This petition was made after So Seong-wook told them that he had to make separate health insurance payments, putting him and other members of the community in a tight spot. However, the higher court today overturned the step taken by the lower one, ruling in So's favor.
The minority is different from the majority, not wrong: Court
Justifying the new ruling, the Seoul High Court judgment read, "Everyone can be a minority in some way. To be in the minority is to be different from the majority and cannot be wrong itself." "In a society dominated by the principle of majority rule, awareness of the rights of minorities and efforts to protect them are necessary," it further read.
Despite same-sex marriage being illegal, the two married in 2019
So Seong-wook and Kim Yongmin got hitched in 2019 but until now, same-sex marriage has not been recognized in South Korea. "There is still a long way to go to end discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, but this ruling offers hope that prejudice can be overcome," said Amnesty International in a statement after the revolutionary ruling.
