hankyoreh

July 6. (by Kim Seong-gwang

“This is a hugely important day for my husband and I, as well as for all LGBT people in South Korea. We will do our best to make the constitutional principle that all citizens are equal before the law to shine in the court.”

On the afternoon of July 6, same sex couple Kim Jho Gwang-soo, 50, and Kim Seung-hwan, 31, held hands as they entered Seoul Western District Court. The court will be ruling on the first marriage papers submitted by a same-sex couple in South Korea.

Since the US Supreme Court recently recognized same-sex marriage as a basic right guaranteed by the constitution, there were big smiles on the faces of the two Kims, who were sharply dressed in suits.

The couple held a public wedding in Sep. 2013 and tried to register their marriage with the Seodaemun District Office in Seoul, but the office rejected the registration, explaining that same-sex marriage is not permitted under civil law. In May 2014, the couple appealed the office’s decision to the court.

The first hearing in the trial - finally held a year later - was presided over by Hon. Lee Gi-taek, who handles non-contentious cases (civil cases that are not processed as litigation).

The two Kims and their lawyers contend that there is no part of the South Korean civil law that forbids same-sex marriage.

“The district office is relying on circular reasoning. After first assuming the dictionary definition of marriage as the union of people of opposite sexes, the office is arguing that the plaintiffs’ marriage did not occur because it does not conform to that definition,” said Han Ga-ram, a lawyer with The Law That Makes Hope.

Compared to litigation, a non-contentious case proceeds quickly. “In a complicated case, there could be several more hearings,” said Kim Byeong-chan, the press liaison for the Seoul Western District Court.

By Bang Jun-ho, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]