The National Human Rights Commission of Korea on Wednesday (27 February) claimed it did not ‘deny’ the rights of a same-sex couple to marry. But, it also rejected a petition filed by a British and South Korean gay couple who got married overseas and asked for their marriage to be recognized. The commission said they would need to review policies and social consensus before permitting same-sex marriage, according to the Korea Herald. A rejection of a petition is different from a dismissal, the newspaper reports. It means the petition did not fall under the ‘scope of the matters subject to the investigation’.
Homosexuality is legal in South Korea. But, conservative attitudes, especially among Christians, force many LGBTI Koreans to live in the closet.