South Korea to Count Same-Sex Couples in Census for First Timehttps://time.com/7327873/south-korea-census-change-statistics-same-sex-couples-lgbt-rights/ 🔗Time - Chad de Guzman
Oct 23, 2025 3:00 AM MT
South Korea quietly made a big change to how it will count its population.
The country's Ministry of Data and Statistics updated on Wednesday its digital registration system for the 2025 Population and Housing Census to accept "spouse" or "cohabiting partner" as valid responses between same-sex household members.
The seemingly small update resolves an issue from previous censuses: when same-sex household members attempted to select "spouse" on prior counts, the data collection system flagged those registrations as errors—forcing them to categorize themselves as "other cohabitants." This rendered same-sex couples the same as any other flatmates, their relationship invisible to government statistics ...
South Korea does not legally allow same-sex marriages or civil partnerships, but the census, which takes place every five years, offers an opportunity for greater recognition and visibility of the LGBT community in data, which is used to influence domestic policy.
The left-wing Justice Party welcomed the ministry's decision and said that it hopes the change will move beyond visibility in statistics and materialize into inclusive policy, like legalizing same-sex marriage. "The path has finally opened for same-sex couples to be reflected in policy," .... "We believe the day will soon come when transgender individuals will be included in population statistics."-----------------------
There is also a push to include census questions concerning sexual orientation. This has been discussed here in the U.S., too. I fully support allowing citizens to correctly identify their gender, and if in a relationship, to identify that relationship.
But I feel that questions about sexual orientation might be a bit too invasive. Why is that anyone's business?
There could be an argument made that it could affect public health policies and programs (availability vs need, funding, etc.), but my concern is that the data could be weaponized against our LGB brothers and sisters. So I have mixed feelings about this.
