A local court has ruled for the first time in the country, that it does not recognize marriages between same sex couples.

The district court in the city of Incheon west of Seoul said a woman identified, as Lee has no obligation to pay her partner of some 20 years named Kim, who filed a suit demanding her share of assets and alimony.

When the couple's relationship soured three years ago after 21 years of living together, 45-year-old Kim asked for her fair share of assets based on restitution and marriage.

But the court said although they maintained a cohabitation relationship similar to a common law marriage, it cannot recognize the relationship since the Korean Constitution stipulates that marriage is the union of a man and a woman and that the term 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex.

It added that same-sex marriages are not yet socially and culturally accepted in Korea.

Arirang TV