The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has recommended a legal revision to recognize various non-traditional family forms, including same-sex civil unions.
 
The human rights watchdog on Wednesday made a recommendation to the National Assembly Speaker that parliament enact a law that protects the basic rights of sexual minorities and help them maintain a community-oriented existence.
 
The commission also recommended swift revision of the Framework Act on Healthy Families to prevent prejudice and discrimination against sexual minorities and create a societal environment where diverse forms of families are accepted. Currently, the act stipulates family as a “civil union formed by marriage, blood ties and adoption.”
 
This follows a petition filed by Korean nationals in homosexual relationships at home and abroad, claiming they are being excluded from the constitutionally guaranteed rights to marriage and family life, which is in violation of the Constitution and international human rights law.
 
The commission added that family policies must be pursued in a future-oriented direction, pointing out that Korea's family and population crisis will only worsen if the nation clings to conventional forms of families.