South Korea court rejects same-sex marriage

SEOUL, South Korea – A lawsuit filed by a prominent gay film director and his partner seeking legal status for their same-sex marriage was rejected by a South Korean district court on Wednesday, May 25, in the first case of its kind.

Movie director Kim Jho Gwang-Soo and his long-time partner Kim Seung-Hwan, held a wedding ceremony in Seoul in September 2013 and submitted their marriage registration form to their local authority – only for it to be rejected.

While homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea, same-sex marriage is not recognized and the country remains deeply conservative about matters of sexual identity.

The couple challenged the decision with a lawsuit filed in July last year, but the ruling on Wednesday sided with the local authority.

“Circumstances have changed concerning marriage … but unless there is separate legislation, a same-sex union cannot be recognized as marriage under the existing legal system,” the Seoul western district court said in a statement.

“Related laws, including the constitution and civil law, are premised on the notion of a conjugal bond meaning a union involving different sexes,” it said.

The two Kims are the most high-profile gay couple in South Korea and the lawsuit they filed over their marriage license was the first of its kind.

“We regret the court decision … but we did see it coming,” Kim Seung-Hwan told AFP, adding that the couple intended to appeal the ruling.

The couple’s lawyer Ryu Min-Hee said the lawsuit had argued that civil law should be viewed through a “gender-neutral” prism that upheld equal rights provisions in the constitution.

“When in doubt, all laws should be interpreted in a constitutional way,” she said.

“We’re disappointed but we’re not done yet,” she added.

Ryu’s legal team had always acknowledged that the likelihood of a district court judge declaring same-sex marriage legal was extremely slim.

Gay and transgender South Koreans live largely under the radar in a country where many still regard homosexuality as a foreign phenomenon.

But gay rights campaigners were buoyed by the US Supreme Court ruling in June last year that made same-sex marriage legal throughout the United States. – Rappler.com