Recognition of same-sex unions in South Korea

South Korea does not recognize same-sex marriage, but there is limited recognition for spousal benefits under state health insurance. On 21 February 2023, an appellate court ruled that government health insurance should offer spousal coverage to same-sex couples, the "first legal recognition of social benefits for same-sex couples" in South Korea. This was upheld by the Supreme Court of Korea on 19 July 2024.

Polling suggests that support for same-sex marriage is rising in South Korea, with a 2023 Pew Research Center poll showing that 41% of South Koreans supported same-sex marriage, while 56% were opposed and 3% did not know or had refused to answer. This represented an increase compared to 2013 and 2017, when 26% and 34% of South Koreans supported same-sex marriage according to Ipsos and Gallup surveys.

Limited legal rights
In 2019, the Government of South Korea announced it would recognize the same-sex spouses of foreign diplomats who come to live in South Korea. The recognition does not extend to same-sex spouses of South Korean diplomats living abroad nor to South Korean same-sex couples. As of 2021, the only beneficiaries of this scheme have been the New Zealand ambassador, Phillip Turner, and his husband Hiroshi Ikeda. Turner and Ikeda attended an official reception with President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook at the Blue House in October 2019 as "legal spouses". Kyudok Hong, a professor at Sookmyung Women's University, said that "[this] symbolically shows that the recognition of same-sex marriage is a global trend and that Korea cannot ignore it."

Supreme Court health insurance ruling
In February 2020, a man in a same-sex relationship, Kim Yong-min, successfully registered his partner, So Seong-wook, as his spouse, allowing So to access his employer's health insurance plan. When the story became public a few months later, the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) reversed course and revoked the dependent status. In February 2021, So filed a lawsuit against the NHIS. He claimed that the NHIS had unfairly discriminated against the couple as the agency provides spousal coverage to common-law partners, and only canceled his coverage under the insurance program of his partner's employer after learning of his same-sex marriage. In January 2022, an administrative court ruled against him citing the lack of legal recognition of same-sex unions in South Korea. So said he would appeal, "We will appeal, and the world will change. I believe a world in which people can live equally is coming soon." The Seoul High Court ruled in favor of the couple on 21 February 2023, holding that government health insurance should offer spousal coverage to same-sex couples, the "first legal recognition of social benefits for same-sex couples" in South Korea. The National Health Insurance Service later announced it would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. On 16 May 2024, Human Rights Watch filed an amicus brief in support of the couple. On 18July, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court ruling allowing same-sex partners equal NHIS spousal benefits. "I couldn't believe when I heard the ruling and I started crying," Kim told Reuters outside the court. "While this decision is a major milestone, the case itself is a sobering reminder of the lengthy judicial processes that same-sex couples must endure to secure basic rights that should be universally guaranteed," Amnesty International said in a statement.

Civil partnerships
In October 2014, a bill to legalize life partnerships was proposed by some members of the Democratic Party of Korea. Life partnerships (생활동반자관계,, ) would have been open to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples, and offered some of the rights and benefits of marriage, such as tax benefits, protection from domestic violence, etc. However, the bill was not brought to a vote in the National Assembly. In February 2021, the government announced plans to recognise domestic partnerships for opposite-sex couples in light of the country's falling birthrate, mostly attributed to the cost of raising children and education. The reform would not apply to same-sex couples; "There hasn't been any discussion nor even a consideration about same-sex couples", a government spokesperson said. Human Rights Watch urged the government to recognise same-sex domestic partnerships.

On 26 April 2023, a group of lawmakers introduced a life partnership bill which "will include a wider range of groups of people living together as a family, such as the elderly, friends and unmarried couples, and provide them with rights in the areas of inheritance, adoption and housing matters, as well as providing other legal protections." Representative Ryu Ho-jeong, a sponsor of the legislation, said she hoped the bill would address South Korea's declining birth rate, citing France where the birth rate increased following the introduction of the civil solidarity pact in 1999.

Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage (동성결혼,, ) is not recognized in South Korea. However, debate on the issue has emerged in recent years, and polling shows rising support for same-sex marriage among the South Korean public, notably among women and the younger generation.

Court cases
In July 2004, the Incheon District Court dismissed a claim for alimony from a same-sex couple who had separated after living together for 20 years. The court ruled that their union could not be recognized as a common-law marriage under Korean law. That same year, a same-sex couple, Lee Sang-cheol, 45, and Park Jong-geun, 41, attempted to register their marriage at the local office in the Eunpyeong District, but were denied.

In July 2015, Kim-Jho Gwangsoo and his partner Kim Seung-Hwan filed a lawsuit seeking legal status for their marriage. The couple had held a public wedding ceremony in Seoul in September 2013, but their marriage registration form was later rejected by local authorities. On 25 May 2016, the Seoul Western District Court ruled against the couple, arguing that without clear legislation a same-sex union could not be recognized as a marriage. The couple appealed the court ruling. Their lawyer, Ryu Min-Hee, announced that two more same-sex couples had filed separate lawsuits to be allowed to marry. On 5 December 2016, an appellate court upheld the district court's ruling.

In February 2019, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea rejected a petition filed by a British-South Korean same-sex couple who sought to have their marriage, performed in the United Kingdom, recognized in South Korea. The commission stated that without legislative action or a judicial decision it was not permitted under law to recognise a foreign same-sex marriage.

Legislative activity
In May 2023, MP Jang Hye-young introduced a same-sex marriage bill co-sponsored by 12 lawmakers to the National Assembly. The bill would modify the definition of marriage in the Civil Code to include same-sex marriages.

Support
The Democratic Labor Party, established in January 2000, was a major political party in South Korea and had a political panel known as the Sexual Minorities Committee (민주노동당 성소수자위원회, minjunodongdang seongsosujawiwonhoe) which advocated for the recognition and political representation of sexual minorities. Their stated agenda included a campaign against homophobia and discrimination based on sexual orientation, equal rights for sexual minorities (in their own words, "complete freedom, equality, and right of pursuit of happiness for homosexuals"), as well as the legalization of same-sex marriages. In its campaign bid for the 2004 parliamentary elections, the Democratic Labor Party promised the abolition of all inequalities against sexual minorities and won a record 10 seats in the National Assembly. The party later merged with the Unified Progressive Party in 2011, which was banned in 2014 on charges of plotting a pro-North Korea rebellion.

The Justice Party and the Green Party have expressed support for LGBT rights and legal recognition of same-sex unions. Some members of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) have also voiced support. In an interview held in September 2014 and later published in October, the Mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon, announced his support for same-sex marriage, saying he hoped South Korea would become the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. A few days later, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that his words had been "misinterpreted" and that Park's words were that "maybe South Korea would become the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage". This followed severe and violent backlash from conservative Christian groups. During the 2017 presidential election, only one of the 14 presidential candidates, the Justice Party's Sim Sang-jung, voiced clear support for LGBT rights.

Opposition
The People Power Party is opposed to LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. President Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea, in office between 2017 and 2022, was opposed to same-sex marriage. On December 19, 2007, Lee Myung-bak of the conservative Grand National Party won the presidential election. In a 2007 newspaper interview, Lee stated that homosexuality was "abnormal", and that he opposed the legal recognition of same-sex marriages.

Public opinion


An April 2013 Gallup poll revealed that 25% of South Koreans supported same-sex marriage, while 67% opposed it and 8% did not know or had refused to answer. A May 2013 Ipsos poll found that 26% of respondents were in favour of same-sex marriage and another 31% supported other forms of recognition for same-sex couples. According to a survey conducted by the matchmaking website Duo between 25 July and 1 August 2015, nearly 70% of female respondents viewed same-sex marriage as "acceptable", while 50% of men were against legalizing same-sex marriage. The majority of respondents who supported same-sex marriage said they did so because marriage was a personal choice (68%), 14% said sexual orientation was determined by nature and 12% said it would help end discrimination.

A September–October 2016 survey by the Varkey Foundation found that 47% of 18–21-year-olds supported same-sex marriage in South Korea. A 2017 Gallup Korea poll found that 58% of South Koreans opposed legalising same-sex marriage, while 34% supported and 8% were undecided. Another survey in December 2017 conducted by Gallup for MBC and the Speaker of the National Assembly reported that 41% of South Koreans thought same-sex marriage should be allowed, while 53% were against.

Public support for same-sex marriage is growing rapidly according to the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. In 2010, 31% and 21% of South Koreans in their 20s and 30s, respectively, supported the legalization of same-sex marriages. In 2014, these numbers had almost doubled to 60% and 40%. Support among people over 60, however, remained unchanged (14% to 15%). A 2022 Hankook Research poll showed that 34% of South Koreans supported same-sex marriage, while 52% were opposed and 14% were undecided. Support was highest among 18–29-year-olds and people who personally knew a gay person.

A Pew Research Center poll conducted between June and September 2023 showed that 41% of South Koreans supported same-sex marriage, 56% were opposed and 3% did not know or had refused to answer. When divided by age, support was highest among 18–34-year-olds at 61% and lowest among those aged 35 and above at 34%. Women (48%) were also more likely to support same-sex marriage than men (33%). Support was highest among the religiously unaffiliated at 50%, and lowest among Buddhists at 38% and Christians at 27%.