In a landmark ruling on Thursday, South Korea's Supreme Court has decided that the state health insurance should provide same-sex couples with equal spousal coverage as heterosexual couples.

The top court confirmed the ruling, stating that the exclusion of the plaintiff, So Seong-wook, from receiving spousal insurance benefits when there is no regulation regarding same-sex partners, is discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The court said such discrimination violates the dignity and values of a human being, the right to pursue happiness, the right to privacy, and the right to be treated equally before the law, adding that the degree of violation is serious.

So, a gay man whose marriage to his same-sex partner Kim Yong-min is not considered legal under Korean law, sued the National Health Insurance Service(NHIS) in 2021 after the agency took away his benefits as a dependent of his husband's policy, based on the grounds that they were a gay couple.

While the first court dismissed So's case, the Seoul High Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff last February, citing discrimination against a same-sex couple without reason.