KoreaHerald.co.kr
The nation’s top court is scheduled to make a ruling next Thursday on whether to legally recognize the new sex of transgender individuals, court officials said yesterday.
The Supreme Court held a closed-door hearing last month to help it decide on whether the change in sex has to be reflected on official documents. It invited a doctor who specializes in sex-change surgery and a religious figure to the hearing.
Three transgenders filed final appeals the Supreme Court against a decision by district courts which had previously dismissed the suit.
The current law defines gender based on sex chromosome and appearance.
But lower courts have rendered several decisions in favor of transgenders even though their chromosome remains the same after sex-change surgery.
There were rulings on 15 cases approving the switch in 2005, and 10 in 2004.