South Korea's highest court recognized new rights for same-sex couples on Thursday. Now, same-sex cohabiting couples can register for the same health insurance in the country.
The verdict means that the state must now offer health insurance to a homosexual man's partner.
"It is discrimination based on sexual orientation to exclude the couple just because they are of the same sex," the court ruled.
The case concerns the couple So Seong-wook and Kim Yong-min, who live together and held a wedding ceremony in 2019, but it had no legal validity since South Korea does not recognize same-sex marriages.
In 2021, So Seong-wook sued the national health insurance authority for terminating his partner's insurance, after the authority discovered that they were a homosexual couple.
The Supreme Court's decision is seen as a groundbreaking event by the country's LGBTQI movement. Activists with rainbow-patterned umbrellas cried tears of joy outside the court. Christian organizations that demonstrated against the verdict were also present outside the court.
South Korea does not recognize same-sex marriages, but homosexual relationships are not illegal. Activists have long demanded legislation against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Amnesty International called the verdict a "historic victory for equality and human rights in South Korea".
