LGBTQ couples in South Korea enjoy a rare legal win for health benefits
The Wall Street Journal reports on LGBTQ acceptance and speaks with UC Law's Ryan Thoreson
LGBTQ individuals continue to face challenges in gaining public acceptance of same-sex couples in South Korea. But that community enjoyed a win earlier this year thanks to a mix up in joint family coverage with the nation’s public health insurer.
The case involving fairness for Kim Young-min and So Sung-uk ended up before South Korea’s Supreme Court when their health benefits were rescinded. A hard fought legal battle eventually produced a landmark victory earlier this year. The high court’s chief justice called the rescinding of health benefits an act of discrimination that “violates human dignity and value.”
The Wall Street Journal reported the story, which also appeared recently on MSN, and spoke with Ryan Thoreson, an assistant professor in the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
Ryan Thoreson is an assistant professor at UC Law.
South Korean activists and lawyers say the Supreme Court’s recent ruling affects joint health coverage, but is likely applicable to a wider range of government services and entitlements.
Thoreson told The Wall Street Journal that once courts provide same-sex couples the protections afforded to married households, the argument against marriage equality for LGBTQ individuals becomes increasingly difficult.
Furthermore, the more visibility LGBTQ couples have in society, like Kim and So in South Korea, the more accepting the public becomes of such causes, added Thoreson, who is also a specialist on LGBTQ right for Human Rights Watch
“The public storytelling around these cases is essential for non-LGBTQ people to understand what’s at stake,” Thoreson told The Wall Street Journal.
Two-fifths of South Koreans support same-sex marriage, according to the Pew Research Center. That is lower than the Asia-wide median of roughly 50%, Pew said.
Thoreson, who received his JD at Yale University, is a scholar of contemporary social movements around gender and sexuality, constitutional law, comparative and international law and human rights law.
Read the full story from The Wall Street Journal story online.
Learn more about the scholarship of UC Law’s Ryan Thoreson online.
Related Stories
UC launches Bearcats Affordability Grant
January 7, 2026
The University of Cincinnati is making college more attainable for students across Ohio with the creation of the Bearcats Affordability Grant. The new grant will provide a pathway to tuition-free college for students of families who make less than $75,000 per year. Beginning in fall 2026, the Bearcats Affordability Grant will cover the remaining cost of tuition for Ohio residents who are Pell eligible.
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.