SEOUL - South Korea's supreme court on Thursday upheld a ruling that a same-sex partner was eligible to spousal benefits from state health insurance, in a move hailed as a win for LGBTQ rights in a country that has lagged other jurisdictions in the region.

The decision upheld a landmark decision by the Seoul High Court early last year that the National Health Insurance Service should provide equal spousal coverage to a gay couple who filed a suit in 2021 against the agency which had cancelled their spousal benefits.

Chief Justice Jo Hee-de said that denying them such benefits because of gender, even though there are no clauses in the national health insurance act specifying it, constitutes discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"It is an act of discrimination that violates human dignity and value, the right to pursue happiness, freedom of privacy and the right to equality before the law, and the degree of violation is serious," Jo told a televised trial.

  - Reuters