A lower court had said a same-sex union cannot be considered a common law marriage under current law and ruled in favor of the insurer.
According to Ryu, the appellate court said the spousal coverage system under the state health insurance scheme was not just for families as defined by law, and not granting the rights to people in same-sex relationships was discrimination. Protecting the rights of minorities is the “biggest responsibility” of the court as the “last bastion” of human rights, the court added.“This is an important decision that moves South Korea closer to achieving marriage equality,” Amnesty International’s East Asia researcher Boram Jang said.
“There is still a long way to go to end discrimination against the LGBTI community, but this ruling offers hope that prejudice can be overcome.”