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With census counting same-sex partnerships, hope rises for recognition

Published: 20 Nov. 2025, 08:00 Updated: 20 Nov. 2025, 13:12

Visitors at Mount Namsan look down at apartment complexes in Seoul on Oct. 9. [NEWS1]

After 12 years of saving through Korea’s national housing subscription program — a regulation system that allocates presale apartments through a raffle — one Seoul resident came to a painful realization: They might never be eligible for the benefits they had spent years preparing for.

For the past three years, the 36-year-old has shared a two-room villa in the capital city with their same-sex partner. However, when the couple began searching for a home to buy together, they were met with complications from trying to sign as two single "households" — effectively preventing them from splitting the payment for their new home.

“Whenever my married friends joke that ‘the biggest perk of marriage is the newlywed housing lottery,’ I feel like the country has erased people like me,” the person told the JoongAng Ilbo under the condition of anonymity. Same-sex marriage is not legally recognized in Korea.

"I want to find a better home and build our own space for our family, but it hurts to think that we’ll never have the chance," the individual added.

The ongoing population and housing census for 2025, which began on Oct. 22, now allows respondents to select “spouse” or “cohabiting partner” even if they are the same gender, marking the first time Korea will collect national data on same-sex couples and unmarried cohabitants. It is the first such change since the country began the census in 1925.

LGBTQ+ rights groups such as Rainbow Action Korea and Marriage for All Korea previously urged the government to include same-sex relationships in national statistics as part of the Third National Human Rights Plans of Action in 2018.

Members of same-sex marriage equality group Rainbow Action Korea and Minbyun Lawyers for a Democratic Society hold a press conference outside the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 14, to file a constitutional petition following a Seoul Northern District Court decision rejecting a request for a constitutional review on the nonrecognition of same-sex marriage. [YONHAP]

Advocates hope the new data will lay the groundwork for more inclusive social and housing policies.

“There are many people like me living with same-sex partners, but we’ve been invisible in official statistics,” the Seoul resident said. “I hope this census helps expand the definition of family.”

Although the number of households not bound by marriage or blood has grown rapidly, official statistics and public policy have long ignored them.

The number of non-kin households — those made up of unrelated individuals living together — rose from 214,421 in 2015 to 545,008 in 2023, a 2.5-fold increase in eight years, according to Statistics Korea.

Yet, current housing policy remains focused on traditional family units. Legislation on housing supply define the basic household unit as a legally married couple and restrict supply to “one household per home.” Public housing programs also limit eligibility to legal families or single-person households, barring non-legal family members from applying together.

Participants march in the 17th Daegu Queer Culture Festival parade near Dongseong-ro in Jung District, Daegu, on Sept. 20. [NEWS1]

Experts argue that as non-kin households grow, housing policies must evolve. A March report by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements recommended shifting the policy framework from “family-based” to “household-based.”

The report called for inclusive housing policies that reflect "diverse life paths rather than a single, traditional life cycle."

“In the past, living together and being a legal family meant the same thing, but that’s no longer true,” said Yoon Sung-jin, associate research fellow at the institute. “The census can help acknowledge this diversity and guide better policymaking.”

Lee Ho-rim, head of the civic group Marriage for All, noted that many people share homes with non-family members.

“Legalizing same-sex marriage is key to ending discrimination and exclusion against same-sex couples,” Lee said. “But at the same time, we need policies that allow different kinds of people to live together as families.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUN YUL [[email protected]]