Staff Writer
Kim Jho Gwang-soo is hoping to marry his long-term partner of nine years. The South Korean Film director is the first local business personality to do so, and the second to ever to come out.
49-year-old Kim told a news conference last Wednesday, sitting next to his partner, Kim Seung-hwan, “We wanted to convey the message that all sexual minorities should be given rights equally in a beautiful way.”
He said in a recent interview with The Associated Press, “Doesn’t the constitution stipulate that everybody is equal before it? We want (South Korea) to enter the stage of starting discussions on” same-sex marriage.”
He says neither he nor his partner have encountered any hostility, saying rather, they have been encouraged in public, “It’s a delightful response,” Kim Jho said.
“There was a time when we worried about our wishes to marry being revealed. But we ourselves feel now that times have changed,” Kim Jho said.
The couple plan to marry on September 7 in a huge public event in Seoul. This is a huge step in South Korea, which remains far from legalizing same-sex marriage. Homosexuality is not illegal in Korea, but many hide their sexuality due to pressure from family to marry partners of the opposite sex, and preserve the bloodline by having children.
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