For the first time in South Korean history, a court has ruled that a same-sex couple is entitled to the same government health insurance benefits as heterosexual spouses. The Seoul High Court found that the National Health Insurance Service had wrongfully denied coverage to So Seong-wook, whose partner had been enrolled in a joint plan before the insurer reversed course. The decision marks a quiet but significant shift in a country where same-sex marriage remains legally unrecognized.
At a glance
- Same-sex health insurance: The Seoul High Court ruled that spousal coverage under the national health plan extends beyond families defined by law, finding that denial of benefits to a same-sex couple amounted to discrimination.
- LGBTQ rights in South Korea: Activists have called the ruling a leap forward in a country where, according to a Human Rights Watch report, discrimination against LGBTQ people remains pervasive in daily life.
- Legal challenge ahead: The National Health Insurance Service is expected to appeal to South Korea’s Supreme Court, meaning the ruling’s long-term force is not yet settled.
How the case unfolded
So Seong-wook and his partner Kim Yongmin held a wedding ceremony in 2019. A year later, Kim enrolled So as a dependent on his national health insurance plan — a routine step for married couples. The insurer initially approved the coverage, then withdrew it, saying the enrollment had been a mistake.
So filed suit against the National Health Insurance Service in 2021. A lower court sided with the insurer. The Seoul High Court overturned that verdict, finding the NHIS had applied too narrow a definition of family and that the denial constituted unlawful discrimination.
“I think it has a great meaning for LGBTQ people who have been in a discriminatory situation, those who support them and all those who are discriminated against,” So told the BBC.
What the court actually said
The language in the ruling was striking. The judges wrote that being in the minority “cannot be wrong itself” and that in a society governed by majority rule, protecting minority rights requires active awareness and effort.
The court did not legalize same-sex marriage or create new statutory rights. What it did was interpret existing health insurance law broadly enough to include same-sex partners — a narrower but still meaningful advance.
Amnesty International responded by noting there is “still a long way to go to end discrimination against the LGBTI community,” while calling the ruling a sign that prejudice can be overcome. That balance of encouragement and candor reflects where South Korea stands: moving, but slowly.
Why this matters beyond one couple
South Korea’s National Health Insurance Service covers nearly the entire population. Access to it — and to dependent coverage — is not a fringe benefit. It is one of the most practical expressions of whether a state recognizes a relationship as real.
Same-sex couples in South Korea are currently excluded from a wide range of government benefits designed for married pairs, including housing support and newlywed subsidies. A ruling that the insurer cannot discriminate in coverage decisions chips at that structure, even if it does not dismantle it.
South Korea is one of the few economically developed countries in Asia without any legal framework for same-sex partnerships. Human Rights Watch has documented how that gap translates into concrete harm — in healthcare, employment, and housing. The Seoul High Court’s ruling does not close that gap, but it sets a precedent that equality principles apply inside it.
The road to the Supreme Court
The case now moves to South Korea’s Supreme Court, where the outcome is uncertain. Courts in the country have historically deferred to the legislature on questions of marriage and family structure. A reversal is possible.
Still, advocates point out that legal change often begins in exactly this way — a single case, a court willing to read equality broadly, and a plaintiff willing to go public. So Seong-wook said he welcomed the ruling as “recognition of a very obvious right that has not been given.” Whatever the Supreme Court decides, that framing is now part of the legal record.
For observers watching South Korea’s social evolution, the ruling adds to a slow but real accumulation of moments. Public attitudes toward LGBTQ acceptance have shifted among younger South Koreans in particular, even as political and legal institutions have lagged. A court choosing to cite minority rights explicitly — in a written judgment — is one more data point in that trend.
The outcome at the Supreme Court will matter. But so does the fact that a high court in Seoul put equality on the scale at all.
Read more
For more on this story, see: BBC News
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Alzheimer’s risk cut in half by drug in landmark prevention trial
- Indigenous land rights recognized at COP30 — 160 million hectares
- The Good News for Humankind archive on South Korea
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