Landmark Seoul High Court Ruling: A New Hope for LGBTQ Rights and Spousal Coverage in South Korea
Background on South Korea's LGBTQ Community South Korea has a long history of discrimination against LGBTQ people. The country's Supreme Court ruled in 2017 that it was unconstitutional for same-sex couples to be denied the right to marry, but there are still no legal protections for queer couples or their children. Despite these challenges, South Korea has made recent progress on LGBTQ rights: In 2019, Seoul became the first city in Asia to pass an ordinance banning conversion therapy; President Moon Jae-in also declared himself "open" to legalizing same-sex marriage; and he appointed his first openly gay cabinet member (who later resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct). The National Health Insurance Service Case In 2016, So Sung-wook and Kim Yong-min were married in South Korea. They were both insured by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) and received coverage for their marriage. However, when they applied for benefits after So's cancer diagn...