hankyoreh

Kim Yong-min and So Seong-wook, a couple who took the NHIS to court, saying that the state insurance had revoked So’s status as a dependent of Kim’s based on the fact that they are a gay couple, hold a press conference outside the Seoul Administrative Court in the city’s Seocho District on Feb. 21. (Kim Gyoung-ho/The Hankyoreh)

A South Korean court has recognized the right of common-law married same-sex couples to claim a spouse as a dependent under the National Health Insurance Act. The court held that the failure to provide social insurance benefits to these couples constituted unreasonable discrimination based on sexual orientation. This is the first ruling to recognize the rights of same-sex couples under Korea’s social security system.

The Seoul High Court ruled Tuesday in favor of So Seong-wook, 32, in a lawsuit he filed against the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), requesting that the state insurance scheme recognize same-sex spouses of people enrolled in health care through their workplaces as their dependents.

Tuesday’s ruling overturned the outcome of a previous trial.

The court stated that the NHIS’s refusal to recognize the spouses of same-sex couples in a civil union as dependents while only recognizing common-law spouses in heterosexual relationships as dependents “constitutes discriminatory treatment based on sexual orientation.”

So and Kim Yong-min, 33, are a gay couple who held a wedding ceremony in May 2015 and have lived together ever since. In May 2020, they inquired of the NHIS if So, as Kim’s husband, could be registered as a dependent of Kim, who is enrolled in the state health insurance through his workplace. The NHIS replied that it would be possible if they were in a common-law marriage.

In response, Kim filed a dependent qualification application and registered So as his dependent with the NHIS. However, when this fact became public through a report by the Hankyoreh 21 news magazine in October 2020, the NHIS claimed that this was a mistake and revoked So’s status as a dependent and registered him as an individual subscriber. So decided to take the NHIS to court over this decision.

The court of first instance ruled against the plaintiff. Despite acknowledging that So and Kim share a livelihood, the court did not recognize their union as a common-law marriage. The ruling was based on the grounds that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.

The appellate court also did not recognize the couple’s common-law union. However, given the mandate of Korea’s social security system, which recognizes the eligibility for health insurance coverage for those “who are supported mainly by the employee insured and whose income or property falls below” certain prescribed standards, the court ruled that “discrimination based solely on sexual orientation is arbitrary discrimination that violates the principle of equality.”

“South Korea has made it clear that sexual orientation cannot be a reason for discrimination in judicial relations, as can be seen in the National Human Rights Commission Act,” the court ruled, adding that “discrimination based on sexual orientation has no place in public law, including the social security system.”

“Today, our status in the legal system has been recognized,” So declared upon the announcement of the ruling. “This is a victory for everyone who wants an equal society for same-sex couples.”

The NHIS has plans to appeal the ruling at the Supreme Court, according to an official from the service who said the agency is “currently reviewing the summary of the judgment and the verdict.”

By Jeong Hye-min, staff reporter

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