Same-sex couple denied insurance clearance despite landmark ruling

This notification provided by a person in a same-sex relationship shows that the National Health Insurance Service has rejected an application for spousal coverage of a same-sex couple. (Provided by the person surnamed Yun)

A July ruling by the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples are eligible to apply for spousal coverage under the state insurance program, but recent reports have shown that state insurance authorities are still refusing to accept such couples as eligible for spousal coverage.

Multiple media outlets reported this week that the National Health Insurance Service has turned down requests from same-sex couples to receive spousal coverage. A notification on such rejection was revealed recently, dated Sept. 24, 2024.

"We are currently reviewing the Supreme Court ruling related to recognizing the standard of life partner of the same sex, and will notify (the applicant) after we've set up the criteria," the NHIS noted in the notice sent to the unidentified couple.

A man surnamed Oh told the media that he had tried to submit all the required paperwork for spousal coverage to the NHIS branch in Ulsan, but the officials there refused to receive the papers and instead gave him an application for a civic complaint. "I was told that the branch can only give me the application for complaints, and that they would call me later after discussing with the headquarters (of the NHIS)," he was quoted as saying.

The NHIS said that the agency is currently working on setting up clear criteria as previously notified to the applicants. It said that unlike cases related to heterosexual couples, there are no regulations stating which legal documents are required for same-sex couples.

Officials stressed that even though the notice uses the word "banryeo," which means rejection, this is not an actual rejection and that they will contact the applicants later with the new criteria.

In what is considered a landmark ruling for the rights of same-sex couples, the country's top court said that a partner in a same-sex relationship should be eligible for spousal coverage under NHIS subscription -- which is available to one's legal spouse and those in a common-law marriage. The court stated that a same-sex couple is an "economic community akin to a conjugal partnership."

The court stressed that excluding a subscriber's same-sex partner from the NHIS dependent coverage is discrimination based on sexual orientation, which is banned by the National Human Rights Commission Act.

But the recent cases indicate that substantial obstacles still stand in the way of the country's LGBTQ+ community having rights equal to those of the heterosexual population. Despite the landmark ruling, South Korean law does not yet officially recognize marriages between people of the same gender.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)