A South Korean high court on Tuesday ruled that the national health insurance service must provide spousal coverage to same-sex couples. Although a welcomed victory for the LGBTQ community, the ruling has shed light on the uphill battle that sexual minorities face in South Korea. Despite growing social acceptance, a bill that would prevent discrimination against the LGBTQ community has been stalled in the National Assembly for decades, with a powerful Christian conservative lobby being a crucial factor in opposing the bill.
Politicians in the governing conservative People Power Party rely on churchgoers as an important voting bloc, while even lawmakers in the center-left Democratic Party have acceded to the demands of this vocal group. The bill, known as the Anti-Discrimination Act, enjoys support among the general public, with about 57% of South Korean adults recently surveyed by Gallup saying they were in favor of it. However, opponents have flooded politicians’ phones with text messages, persuaded school boards to remove books with transgender characters from their libraries, and have prayed in public against the bill in cities across the country.
At stake is whether South Korea would officially condemn all forms of discrimination. Although protections have been secured for people with disabilities, women, and older people, no legislation has cemented full protections for sexual minorities into law. The bill in its current form would solidify protections for various groups, but the main reason it is being held up in the National Assembly is that it includes LGBTQ people.
The collapse of the bill has been seen by some as a symbol of the country’s “backwardness” and its laws remaining out of step with the times. With the bill stalled indefinitely, many in the LGBTQ community in South Korea are resolved to live as they wish, not waiting for the law to catch up with society. Nevertheless, supporters of the bill are hopeful that it will eventually be passed, and that South Korea will join other Asian countries like Thailand and Taiwan, which have passed laws protecting queer rights and prohibiting discrimination against sexual minorities.