(Seoul) – South Korea’s National Health Insurance Corporation should extend benefits to same-sex partners, Human Rights Watch said in an amicus brief filed with the country’s Supreme Court on May 16, 2024. Ta. The agency will extend alimony benefits to heterosexual couples who are considered same-sex partners. They are de facto married, but refuse to extend that benefit to similarly situated same-sex couples.
The Supreme Court is currently considering whether the agency impermissibly discriminated against same-sex couples who were denied alimony. In 2023, the Seoul High Court ruled in favor of the couple, concluding that refusing to extend benefits amounted to discrimination based on sexual orientation. The health department appealed to the Supreme Court.
“The Seoul High Court correctly ruled that health authorities' refusal to recognize same-sex couples constitutes discrimination,” said Lina Yoon, senior Korea researcher at Human Rights Watch. “We hope the Supreme Court will affirm the principle that no one should be denied benefits solely on the basis of sexual orientation.”
The couple who filed the lawsuit had a symbolic wedding in 2019, and one of the men registered his partner as his spouse with the National Health Insurance Agency in 2020. The agency later revoked her partner's alimony after the factual finding received media attention. of same-sex couples.
The Human Rights Watch brief discusses international and regional precedents for state recognition of same-sex partnerships, the status of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in South Korea, and same-sex partnerships in other parts of Asia. We are examining the growing awareness of
South Korea has not created a framework to recognize and support same-sex couples. In the absence of legal frameworks and protections for same-sex partners, LGBT people have access to state benefits to protect relationships with partners and children, protect shared finances and property, and support couples and families. There is almost no way left.
Human Rights Watch said the government's failure to recognize same-sex partnerships does not meet human rights obligations. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says that United Nations member states “have a positive obligation to provide legal recognition to couples and their children, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or sexual characteristics.” I concluded. Expand benefits provided to heterosexual couples without discrimination.
Among regional human rights institutions, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has said that states must extend the right to marry to same-sex couples, and the European Court of Human Rights has said that states must create some legal recognition and protection. Stated. In the case of same-sex relationships.
As Human Rights Watch and others have pointed out, South Korea also lacks comprehensive protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Despite strong public support for comprehensive anti-discrimination laws, lawmakers have repeatedly failed to enact basic protections prohibiting discrimination in employment, education, and other areas.
South Korea has failed to protect LGBT rights and is out of step with trends in other countries in the region. In 2019, Taiwan became the first jurisdiction in Asia to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples, followed by Australia and New Zealand.
Courts in Japan and Thailand have expressed concern that partnership is not recognized in these situations, and Nepal's Supreme Court has granted interim recognition of the right to marry while considering a marriage equality case. was extended.
A growing number of states in the region are banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. Australia, Fiji, Macau, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Thailand and Tuvalu prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in employment and other areas.
“South Korean lawmakers are dragging their feet on anti-discrimination and partnership bills, failing to provide basic protections to same-sex couples,” Yun said. “Korean courts now have an opportunity to uphold the state's human rights obligations by ensuring that the state does not discriminate in the material benefits it provides to committed couples.”
