South Korean Christian groups protest against rights for same-sex couples

Hundreds of thousands of members of South Korea’s Christian groups held a service in Seoul on Sunday to protest against a landmark court ruling that acknowledged the rights of partners in same-sex couples to receive state health insurance.

The supreme court in July upheld a high court ruling that a same-sex partner was eligible for spousal benefits from the National Health Insurance Service, a move hailed as a win for LGBTQ rights in a country that has lagged others in the region.

Sunday’s massive service drew hundreds of thousands of Christians from across the country, disrupting traffic on several major roads in central Seoul.

As many as 230,000 people attended, according to police. The organisers, meanwhile, said as many as 1.1 million people took part. Calls to the Seoul metropolitan police agency were not answered.

Kim Jeong-hee, a spokesperson for the organising committee, said the verdict was unconstitutional because same-sex marriage has not been legalised.

“I think that would only be the starting point for same-sex marriage legalisation policy,” Kim said. “We see this not simply as a Christian issue, but as a huge crisis that shakes our country’s foundation.”