South Korea

[Rick]

South Korea's First-Ever Equal Marriage Lawsuit Has Begun

 

The first-ever lawsuit challenging South Korea's ban on same-sex marriage started today, 6 July 2015. The lawsuit, which was heard behind closed doors in the Seoul Western District Court, hopes to build on the momentum of the US Supreme Court's same-sex marriage ruling two weeks ago.

 

Filed by Kim-Jho Gwang-soo, a film director and LGBT activist and Kim Seung-hwan, a head of the Rainbow Factory production company, the lawsuit is the first of its kind to be filed in South Korea. The couple were the first to hold a public wedding in the Asian nation, where same-sex marriage remains a taboo. Knowing their application would be rejected, after a public wedding ceremony in September 2013, the couple submitted their marriage license application to the Seodaemun District Office anyway.

 

According to that office, the constitution of South Korea only recognizes opposite-sex couples. The couple called the rejection of their application "utterly groundless", and challenged the court to recognise same-sex marriage.

 

The country may have quite a way to go. Its Military Criminal Act makes homosexuality illegal, and those found guilty can face up to two years in prison.

 

Rick

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rick]

North Korean Gay Defector Becomes LGBT Activist

 

"It is a tragedy to live without knowing that you are gay," Jang Yeong-jin told The Guardian when asked to discuss his life in North Korea before he fled south. Yeong-jin made a daring escape to South Korea almost 20 years ago, after his claustrophobic life in the North made him feel he had no other alternative. "I thought if I die, I die. I was that desperate," said Yeong-jin. "Life without hope is not worth living, I thought."

 

Yeong-jin joined the military before he turned 20, spent a decade mainly in the company of other men in military service, and married a woman soon thereafter. But he knew something was missing, he just didn't know what. About two years after arriving in South Korea, Yeong-jin happened upon a picture of two men kissing in a magazine. At age 40, he finally figured out the missing piece of his life: he is, and has always been, gay. It was something he simply never knew existed-that is just how removed North Korean society can be.

 

He is now 57 years old.

 

Rick

 

 

 

 

[Rick]

South Korean Gay Couple Appeals Court Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage

 

A high-profile South Korean gay couple said Thursday, 26 May 2016, that they will appeal a recent court's rejection to legally recognize their marriage. Kim Jho Gwang-soo and Kim Sung-hwan tied the knot in September 2013 but are still seeking to get legal status.

 

They submitted a report of marriage to a Seoul district office, but it was denied by the office on the grounds that "same-sex marriage does not satisfy the definition of husband and wife in civil law." They made an appeal in May 2014, asking the court to rule on the case.

 

The Seoul Western District Court ruled against the filmmaker couple Wednesday, 25 May 2016, saying same sex-marriage cannot be recognized as legitimate under the country's current legal system. The court said a separate legislative step is needed to recognize same-sex unions as a marriage.

 

"I don't understand why we have to be marginalized from the existing system just because we have the same sex," Kim said. "I hope the judiciary takes courage and makes a decision, instead of pushing the responsibility to the legislative body."

 

Their legal representatives said two more same-sex couples will file separate suits later in the day, 26 May 2016, seeking legal status for their marriages.

 

Rick

 

 

 

 

 

[Rick]

South Korea Rejects Visa Application for Same-Sex Spouse of Citizen

The South Korean government has declined to issue a marriage immigration visa (F-6) to a British man who married his Korean male partner in Britain three years ago. On Sunday, 3 June 2018, the Ministry of Justice said that it had recently turned down Simon Williams-Im’s request for the visa, saying Korean laws do not recognize same-sex marriages.

“Whether a nation or a society accepts, same-sex marriage needs a careful and comprehensive consideration of many factors, such as interpretation of constitutional values regarding the definition of marriage … And it requires national consensus,” the ministry said in response to Williams-Im after he sent his request to President Moon Jae-in.

Same-sex marriages and civil unions are not legally recognized here, though some members of the National Assembly proposed a bill to legalize such partnerships several years ago. In a highly publicized case, actor Kim Jho Gwang-soo and his male partner Kim Seung-hwan filed a lawsuit in 2013 after the Seodaemun District Office in Seoul declined to accept their marriage registration, only to be rejected by the Seoul Western District Court in 2016.

Rick

 

[Rick]

South Korea: Constitutional Court Nominee Defends Same-Sex Marriage

On 10 September 2018, Constitutional Court nominee Lee Seok-tae faced tough questions and homophobia from lawmakers as he defended LGBTI rights in South Korea’s National Assembly.

"We should not look at the matter in terms of for and against, but as basic rights," Lee reportedly said of same-sex marriage on Monday. He said homosexuals were a minority and noted that other countries had been legalizing same-sex marriage. "It won’t be easy in the short run, but we have to understand and face it," he said to lawmakers.

Lee faced a number of homophobic responses and questions from lawmakers. One lawmaker asked if he was homosexual. Another said that Lee equating homosexuals to left-handed people (as a minority) would make left-handed people angry.

Homosexuality is legal in South Korea (other than in the military), but currently, there is no anti-discrimination legislation to protect LGBTI people. Same-sex marriage is illegal.

Rick

 

[Rick]

South Korea: Gay New Zealand Ambassador Visits Blue House with Husband

The gay New Zealand ambassador to South Korea has made history as the first foreign diplomat to visit Blue House with a same-sex partner. Blue House is the official residence of President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and his wife Kim Jung-sook, and ambassador Philip Turner visited with his husband, Hiroshi Ikeda, to attend a reception for diplomats.

Turner posted pictures of the historic moment on Twitter, and wrote: “A great honour to meet President Moon and First Lady today (18 October 2019) with my husband Hiroshi. Thanks to President Moon, this is the first time this has been possible in Korea.”

Rick

 

[Rick]

South Korea: LGBT Activists File Mass Petition for Marriage Equality

On Wednesday, 12 November 2019, South Korean LGBT activists filed a mass petition to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea calling for greater same-sex rights. A network of organizations called Gagoonet, or the Korean Network for Partnership and Marriage Rights of LGBT, submitted the mass complaint, which cites violations of numerous economic and social rights in Korea due to the lack of legal same-sex partnerships. The petition carried the signatures of 1,056 LGBT individuals, same-sex couples, and family members.

Yi Ho-rim, an organizer with Gagoonet, said the group is pushing for the Human Rights Commission, a national advocacy institution, to make a recommendation to the government to introduce legislation for same-sex marriage and partnership rights.

Same-sex marriage and other forms of legal partnership are not available in South Korea, and in the military, consensual sex between men is punishable by up to two years in prison, a policy that Amnesty International condemned earlier this year.

Rick

 

[Rick]

 South Korea: The Case of the First Transgender Soldier

The South Korean military said it will make an unprecedented decision about the future of transgender soldiers who serve in the armed forces following a non-commissioned officer's decision to undergo sex reassignment surgery. The case has sparked a wider discussion about the rights of gay and transgender South Koreans.

During a briefing on Thursday, 16 January 2020, a South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman said there are no regulations on the books that outline what to do when a transgender soldier undergoes transition surgery. A committee will decide in the coming days whether to discharge the soldier or allow her to keep serving in the military, the spokesman said. Under current regulations, transgender Koreans are prohibited from entering the military, but there are no regulations regarding soldiers in active service, the spokesman clarified.

The soldier, who has not been named, underwent sex reassignment surgery in Thailand late last year while she was on personal leave. She is a professional officer who was not drafted, but rather, is someone who signed up for the military. She was identified by the Center for Military Human Rights Korea (CMHRK) as a tank officer, and had been receiving hormone therapy and psychological treatment before the surgery.

Rick

 

[Rick]

South Korea: First Transgender Soldier, Discharged from Military, Plans to Sue

Sgt. Byun Hee-soo was "compulsorily" discharged by the South Korean Armed Forces once they had determined that she had undergone gender affirming surgery. They made their decision on Wednesday, 22 January 2020, after considering the matter according to South Korean military law. The use of the word "compulsorily" insinuates that it was required under South Korean military rules.

In a press conference following the military’s announcement, Byun pledged to sue for her right to stay in the Armed Forces. “I will continue to fight until the day I can remain to serve in the army,” she said. “I’ll challenge the decision until the end, to the Supreme Court.”

A military spokesman confirmed that officials found out about Byun’s “loss of male genitals” through tests at a military hospital, where she has been kept since. A panel determined that the military can consider this “a mental or physical handicap,” since Byun entered service classified as a male.

Rick

 

[Rick]

South Korea: Anti-Discrimination Bill Receives Lukewarm Support from Catholic Bishops

A South Korean bill banning discrimination across 26 different categories has hesitant support from the Catholic bishops of the country, who (foolishly) caution (in a pearl-clutching, "sky-is-falling" warning) that it could also lead to the legalization of same-sex marriage, as well as to “reverse discrimination” against traditional understandings of marriage, family, and gender, (despite the fact that the anti-discrimination measure does not even mention marriage equality nor does it deal with "family").

The anti-discrimination bill being debated was introduced by Rep. Jang Hye-young in June 2020, and is one of several such bills to have been proposed in recent years. Similar bills have been defeated, "The Korea Times" reported, due to strong opposition from influential, politically conservative Protestant groups in the country. According to "The Korea Times," the current bill has support from the (majority) Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, while (most of the more fanatical fringe) Protestant groups are largely opposed, though some (who are more mainstream) have voiced their support for it.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/korean-bi...

Note: All words in parentheses have been added for clarity.

Rick

 

[Rick]

Gay Couple Sues State Health Insurer Over Cancelled Coverage

On Thursday, 18 February 2021, So Seong-wook and his partner Kim Yong-min filed an administrative lawsuit against the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) with the Seoul Administrative Court, according to the Korean Network for LGBT Partnership and Marriage Rights. The NHIS first granted So coverage under Kim's employer-based health insurance program in February 2020, but reversed the decision in October 2020, citing their same-sex marriage. So has since been charged a separate premium, which the suit is asking the court to cancel. He claimed at a press conference outside the court on Thursday that denying his benefits as the spouse of a subscriber in the health insurance program simply because of his gender is discriminatory. By law, the NHIS grants such benefits to partners of civil unions, he noted.  So and Kim have lived together since 2017 and have been married since May 2019, but South Korea does not legally recognize same-sex marriages.

http://m.koreaherald.com/amp/view.php?ud=20210219000680

Rick

[Rick]

South Korea's First Transgender Soldier Found Dead

South Korea's first transgender soldier, who was discharged from the military last year for having gender reassignment surgery, was found dead in her home on Wednesday, 3 March 2021, authorities said.

Byun Hui-su, 23, who was a staff sergeant before being discharged after she had the operation in Thailand while on leave, was found by emergency officials at her home in the city of Cheongju, south of Seoul. It appeared she had been dead for several days.

Byun, who had expressed hope of continuing to serve in the military's female corps, had been pursuing a lawsuit contesting her dismissal, with a hearing expected in April, according to a spokeswoman for military advocacy group Center for Military Human Rights Korea that had worked with her.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/south-koreas...

Rick

 

[Rick]

South Korea: Court Orders Posthumous Reinstatement of Trans Soldier

Republic of Korea (ROK) Army Staff Sgt. Byun Hui-su was a tank driver who simply wanted to continue to serve her country in the military. But she also wanted to serve as her authentic self, a 23-year-old trans female, and that is when the problem arose.

She was stationed in Gyeonggi Province, north of Seoul, and in January of 2020, after she had made a trip to Thailand in 2019 for gender reassignment surgery and notified her superiors that she wanted to transfer to the ROK Army female corps, the ROK Army summarily discharged her for being trans.

In a highly emotional press conference after the ROK Army had announced its decision to discharge her from active duty, Byun broke down in tears as she described the decision to undergo surgery after suffering from gender dysphoria, which medical experts define as distress from the internal conflict between physical gender and gender identity. The case brought widespread media attention both in South Korea and overseas because she was the first known trans ROK Army active-duty soldier to have sex reassignment surgery.

She took the Army to court with the assistance of the Center for Military Human Rights Korea, a civic group who had filed a petition alleging Byun’s forced military discharge was discriminatory toward transgender people. In December 2020, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) concluded that the ROK Army’s decision in January to discharge her, as opposed to allowing her to continue to serve in the military as a female soldier, had no legal grounds.

The majority of the NHRCK commission disagreed with the ROK Army’s findings and concluded that the discharge was unlawful “because there is no legal basis for applying physical disability ratings to transgender people.” The commission also found that the ROK Army’s finding of her having a physical disability was incorrect and contravened human rights law, since she underwent the sex reassignment surgery not because of an accident but because of her gender identity.

This past week, in a bittersweet moment, the Daejeon District Court said that as her transgender status was already legally recognized, the ROK Army should have used standards applied to women to determine her fitness to serve. Ruling in Staff Sgt. Byun Hui-su’s favor, the court noted: "When based on standards of women, there are no mental or physical disability grounds for dismissal.” The court then ordered the ROK Army to reinstate her.

However, there was no celebratory acknowledgement because on 3 March 2021, she had taken her own life, and was discovered deceased by emergency officials at her home in the city of Cheongju, south of Seoul.
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2021/10/10/s-kore....

 

Rick

 

[Rick]

South Korea: Same Sex Couple Loses Suit against State Health Insurer

On Friday, 7 January 2022, a Seoul court ruled against a same sex couple demanding the same spousal health insurance coverage as heterosexual couples, saying marriage in South Korea is still considered a union between a man and a woman. In February 2021, So Seong-wook filed the administrative lawsuit against the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) after the agency canceled So's coverage under the insurance program of his male partner's employer.

"The union of a man and a woman is still understood as the core element of marriage based on existing civic law, Supreme Court, and Constitutional Court ruling precedent," the Seoul Administrative Court said in the ruling. It said there was no legal grounds to expand the concept of marriage to that of homosexual unions. The court also said it did not find the NHIS in violation of the principle of equality under the Constitution, saying the union of a man and a woman and that of homosexuals "fundamentally cannot be seen as equal."

According to So, in February 2020, the NHIS first granted him coverage under Kim's employer-based health insurance program as a dependent, but later reversed the decision, citing their same-sex marriage. So claimed that he and his partner were discriminated against, as the NHIS grants spousal coverage to common-law partners.

By law, South Korea does not legally recognize same-sex marriages. So and his partner said they will appeal the ruling.
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=2022010700...

Rick

 

[Rick]

South Korea: Supreme Court Overturns Convictions of Gay Soldiers

On Thursday, 21 April 2022, South Korea’s Supreme Court threw out a military court ruling that convicted two gay soldiers for having sex outside their military facilities, saying it stretched the reading of the country’s widely criticized military sodomy law. The court’s decision to send the case back to the High Court for Armed Forces was welcomed by human rights advocates, who had long protested the country’s 1962 Military Criminal Act’s Article 92-6, which prohibits same-sex conduct among soldiers in the country’s predominantly male military.

The article prescribes a maximum prison term of two years for “anal intercourse” and “any other indecent acts” between military personnel. Following the Supreme Court’s full panel deliberation of its 13 justices, Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su said they concluded the provisions should not be applied to consensual sex between male service members that take place outside military facilities during off-duty hours.
https://apnews.com/article/seoul-south-korea-f9d3...

Rick

 

[Rick]

South Korea: Appellate Court Rules in Favor of Gay Couple on Spousal Health Insurance

On 21 February 2023, a South Korean appellate court ruled in favor of a same-sex couple demanding the same spousal coverage from the state health insurance program as that already provided to heterosexual couples. The Seoul High Court delivered the landmark ruling, overturning the lower court's decision that stated that marriage in South Korea is considered a union between a man and a woman, and that there are no legal grounds to expand the concept to also include same-sex couples.

The plaintiff, So Seong-wook, filed the administrative lawsuit against the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) in February 2021, after the agency ordered him to pay his own insurance premiums, once he was deemed not qualified to be a dependent of his male spouse.

So claimed that he and his partner were discriminated against, as the NHIS presently grants spousal coverage to common-law partners. By law, South Korea currently does not legally recognize same-sex marriages.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/appellate-co...

 

Rick

 

[Rick]

South Korea: Life Partnership (Civil Union) Bill Introduced to National Assembly

A Life Partnership Bill has been introduced to the South Korea National Assembly by multiple minor opposition parties, a measure which would recognize diverse families, including LGBT couples.
https://twitter.com/LGBTMarriage/status/165530759...

In South Korea, a bill has been proposed that would grant civil union status to a more diverse range of relationships and provide people with a broader range of legal rights and protections, despite stiff opposition from conservative Christian groups.

On 26 April 2023, Rep. Yong Hye-in of the minor opposition Basic Income Party and 10 other lawmakers from opposition parties proposed the Life Partnership Relations Act, which would recognize partnerships outside of blood relations and marriage as being familial. The lawmaker noted that the proposal would include a wider range of groups of people who are living together as being a family, such as the elderly, friends, and unmarried couples, and well as provide them with rights in the areas of inheritance, adoption, and housing matters, and provide for other legal protections.

Rep. Ryu Ho-jeong of the minor opposition Justice Party, who co-proposed the legislation, underscored the need to legally recognize same-sex couples as families and to provide them with health and welfare services.

The main opposition DPK plans to support the bill only if it excludes same-sex unions, while the proposal has little prospect of gaining support from the conservative ruling PPP.
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2023/05/2...

Rick

 

[Rick]

South Korea: Supreme Court Recognizes Health Insurance Benefits for Same-Sex Couples

Per CriSzis:

El 18 de julio 2024, la Suprema Corte de Corea del Sur acaba de ratificar una sentencia mediante la cual se reconocen el derecho a los beneficios de seguro médico conyugal para las parejas homosexuales.

https://x.com/SoyCriSzis/status/1813942866374459563/photo/1

On 18 July 2024, the Supreme Court of South Korea has just ratified a ruling in which it recognizes the right to spousal healthcare insurance benefits for same-sex couples.

Rick

 

[Rick]

South Korea: First Steps in Marriage Equality Legal Challenge Have Begun

Per LGBTQ Global:

In South Korea, on 11 October 2024, eleven same-sex couples filed to have their marriages legally recognized. As expected, after they have been denied, they then plan to launch a legal challenge to force recognition of their marriages through the Constitutional Court, in a process that is rather similar to what has been happening in Japan.

 

Per "San Francisco Examiner:"

On 11 October 2024, eleven gay and lesbian couples will attempt to register their marriages in South Korea, expecting to launch a legal process they hope will get the country to recognize marriage equality. The couples expect that the local authorities will decline to register their marriages because South Korea does not currently recognize same-sex unions.

They then plan to file a lawsuit if they cannot register and, eventually, to force the Constitutional Court to issue a ruling.

https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/national/south-korean-same-sex-couples-make-push-for-marriage-equality/article_201152f2-7466-5d5d-9ef0-5d4d7aca92b8.html?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Rick

 

Edited October 12, 2024 by Rick

[The Jester]

On 10/13/2021 at 4:50 AM, Rick said:

South Korea: Court Orders Posthumous Reinstatement of Trans Soldier

Republic of Korea (ROK) Army Staff Sgt. Byun Hui-su was a tank driver who simply wanted to continue to serve her country in the military. But she also wanted to serve as her authentic self, a 23-year-old trans female, and that is when the problem arose.

She was stationed in Gyeonggi Province, north of Seoul, and in January of 2020, after she had made a trip to Thailand in 2019 for gender reassignment surgery and notified her superiors that she wanted to transfer to the ROK Army female corps, the ROK Army summarily discharged her for being trans.

In a highly emotional press conference after the ROK Army had announced its decision to discharge her from active duty, Byun broke down in tears as she described the decision to undergo surgery after suffering from gender dysphoria, which medical experts define as distress from the internal conflict between physical gender and gender identity. The case brought widespread media attention both in South Korea and overseas because she was the first known trans ROK Army active-duty soldier to have sex reassignment surgery.

She took the Army to court with the assistance of the Center for Military Human Rights Korea, a civic group who had filed a petition alleging Byun’s forced military discharge was discriminatory toward transgender people. In December 2020, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) concluded that the ROK Army’s decision in January to discharge her, as opposed to allowing her to continue to serve in the military as a female soldier, had no legal grounds.

The majority of the NHRCK commission disagreed with the ROK Army’s findings and concluded that the discharge was unlawful “because there is no legal basis for applying physical disability ratings to transgender people.” The commission also found that the ROK Army’s finding of her having a physical disability was incorrect and contravened human rights law, since she underwent the sex reassignment surgery not because of an accident but because of her gender identity.

This past week, in a bittersweet moment, the Daejeon District Court said that as her transgender status was already legally recognized, the ROK Army should have used standards applied to women to determine her fitness to serve. Ruling in Staff Sgt. Byun Hui-su’s favor, the court noted: "When based on standards of women, there are no mental or physical disability grounds for dismissal.” The court then ordered the ROK Army to reinstate her.

However, there was no celebratory acknowledgement because on 3 March 2021, she had taken her own life, and was discovered deceased by emergency officials at her home in the city of Cheongju, south of Seoul.
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2021/10/10/s-kore....

 

Rick

 

And now the same thing's all set to happen in the USA itself, due to certain people at the top who want to  reintroduce discrimination.

There might to  time for being as bad as the enemy: then comes a time for seeing that, in the end that means the enemy wins. You have to be as clever as the enemy. My Lai didn't help America win.

But the battle of Leuctra helped democracy win.

People who are brave leading the infantry should stay leading the infantry, not be promoted to a position they're unsuited to.

Edited August 29 by The Jester