Supreme Court upholds ruling permitting same-sex spousal health benefits

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Supreme Court upholds ruling permitting same-sex spousal health benefits

Published: 18 Jul. 2024, 17:20 Updated: 18 Jul. 2024, 17:40

So Seong-wook, second left, and Kim Yong-min, second right, who filed a lawsuit against the National Health Insurance Service demanding equal spousal coverage to a same-sex couple in 2021 chant slogans in front of the Supreme Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a ruling that a same-sex partner is eligible for spousal health benefits from a state insurance company.

The decision marks the first time the top court has ruled that spousal health insurance benefits should be eligible for same-sex dependents, despite the prevailing legal definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The ruling left LGBTQ rights activists in the courtroom weeping for joy.

The ruling stood by a decision made by the Seoul High Court in February last year, which ruled that the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) must provide equal spousal coverage to a gay couple who filed a suit against the agency in 2021.

In February 2020, Kim Young-min successfully registered his same-sex partner, So Seong-wook, as his dependent in the public health insurance system.

However, upon discovering the couple's same-sex status, the NHIS reversed its decision, citing an administrative error.

In January 2021, So filed an administrative lawsuit against the agency, demanding the reversal of their decision.

Initially, in November 2021, the Seoul Administrative Court sided with the agency, stating that there are no legal grounds to expand the definition of the fundamental element of marriage — the union of a man and a woman — to same-sex couples.

However, an appeals court ruled in favor of the gay couple, viewing the NHIS's decision as discriminatory, considering that the state health insurance program provides spousal benefits to heterosexual civil marriage couples.

In the decision, Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de said that excluding a same-sex partner from being a dependent based on sexual orientation is discriminatory, especially when there are no explicit clauses in the NHIS act to specify this exclusion.

"Not recognizing same-sex couples is an act of discrimination that violates human dignity and worth, the right to pursue happiness, freedom of privacy and the right to equality before the law," Jo said.

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]