hankyoreh

Mr. Lee, 34, has lived with his partner, a 29-year-old white-collar worker surnamed Ha, for over three years. But when Ha was taken to the emergency room, Lee had to ask his older sister to come all the way to sign the surgery consent form. Lee had no standing as a legal guardian. And because hospital policy prevented him from staying the night unless he was a direct relative, he had to lie and say he was a family member to be able to look after Ha.

This kind of experience - relatives substituting for close companions - is not as rare as it may sound. No matter how close they are, many people whose relationships fall outside the legally defined boundaries of marriage, including members of cohabiting, common law, and same-sex couples, are refused legal rights and responsibilities regarding their life partners.

Now, some newly proposed legislation may change that.

Jin Sun-mee, a New Politics Alliance for Democracy lawmaker and member of the National Assembly Gender Equality and Family Committee, said on Oct. 28 that she plans to sponsor legislation for an “act on life partner relationships” in November.

That same day, Jin also provided the Hankyoreh with a report from an investigation examining the various forms of discrimination, disadvantages, and difficulties such couples face compared to legally married ones - as well as their hopes for the future.

Jin’s legislation would define a “life partner” entitled to policy protections as “an adult in a relationship of cohabitation, support, and cooperation with another person.” The idea was modeled on the partnership systems in the US and some European countries, along with France’s civil union system.

A 2012 estimate of future household composition by Statistics Korea predicted a rise in single-person households from 4.15 million in 2010, (23.9% of all households) to 7.62 million in 2035 (34.3%). The number cohabiting with a non-relative was projected to rise from 205,000 to 225,000 over the same period.

Experts believe many of those one-person households are actually people in a relationship with a life partner.

“There aren’t any precise figures on the situation or scale of life partnerships,” said Ryu Min-hee, an attorney with the group Korean Lawyers for Public Interest and Human Rights who co-authored the report.

Many of the policies life partners want are related to matters of everyday economics. One example is that people legally classified as “one-person households” receive low-priority status when applying for housing and loans.

Those hoping to enjoy insurance benefits are often subjected to severe privacy violations.

“I was in a car accident a while back, and I said I was in a common law relationship,” said one 54-year-old. “Someone came [from the insurance company] to my house to check it out, and they ended up going through my underwear drawer.”

Other hassles include having to enroll separately in health insurance and other forms of public insurance, and being denied spousal deductions when filing taxes. If a couple splits up, the members are not entitled to any legal protections on the dividing of assets.

“If anything, the obligation to support is more important for life partners,” said Ryu when asked whether the legislation might be seen as more focused on rights than obligations.

Jin shrugged off concerns that the bill might have a negative effect on more “traditional” family relationships.

“What threatens traditional families isn’t any particular system - it’s a harsh reality that prevents family members from living together and caring for each other,” she said.

“The life partner bill is legislation to promote the family, which it does by encouraging people to care for each other and make a family together,” she added.

By Park Su-ji, staff reporter

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