South Korea makes progress on same-sex equality, but broader bill stalled

The country's Christian conservatives have campaigned tirelessly for decades to prevent legislation that would provide protections for L.G.B.T.Q. people.

A South Korean high court on Tuesday ordered the National Health Insurance Service to provide spousal coverage to same-sex couples, a decision that was seen as a welcome victory, but one that supporters declared underscored how far the country must go to protect the rights of sexual minorities.

Despite social acceptance growing number of sexual minorities in South Korea, a bill that would prevent discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgender people is stalled in the National Assembly, decades after such a measure was introduced.

A powerful Christian conservative lobby was a crucial factor in opposing the bill. Politicians from the ruling conservative People Power Party rely on the faithful as an important voting bloc. But even when the center-left Democratic Party was in power, lawmakers from both parties acceded to the demands of this vocal group.

"No other bills are 'has been attacked with more fervor than this,' said Kwon In-sook, a lawmaker from the main opposition Democratic Party and sponsor of the legislation in 2021.

Such measures have found support in other Asian countries. In Thailand, a law protecting gay rights came into force in 2015. In Taiwan, discrimination against sexual minorities is contrary the law for about 15 years. In South Korea, by contrast, protesters held homophobic signs outside the home of the US ambassador after he said he supports L.G.B.T.Q. rights.

The bill, known as the Anti-Discrimination Act, bene lacks mainstream support: About 57% of South Korean adults recently polled by Gallup said they were in favor of it. Proponents see his failure as an example of how the country's laws remain out of step with the times.

ImageSo Seong-wook, third from left, and Kim Yong-min, fourth from left, celebrating in Seoul on Tuesday after a court ruled in favor of the same-sex couple, who had demanded spousal coverage by the national health service.Credit...Yonhap/EPA, via Shutterstock

His opponents flooded politicians' phones with text messages. They persuaded school boards to remove books containing transgender characters from their libraries. They prayed in public against the bill in cities across the country. And they say their ranks are growing.

"Opposition to homosexuality and anti-discrimination law has grown explosively," said Gil Won- pyeong, professor of physics and Presbyterian. who campaigned against the bill. “The first opposition group to the law was formed 10 years ago. Today, there are hundreds of such groups across the country."

At stake is whether South Korea would officially condemn all forms of discrimination, said Hong Seong-soo, a law professor at Sookmyung University.