A South Korean court has rejected a gay couple’s wish to legally recognized as married today (25 May).

Movie director Kim Jho Gwang-Soo and his long-time partner Kim Seung-Hwan asked a Seoul district court to agree their same-sex union was legal under civil law.

They hoped the judge would agree civil law should be viewed through a ‘gender neutral’ prism’ that upheld equal rights provisions in the constitution’.

‘Circumstances have changed concerning marriage … but unless there is separate legislation, a same sex union cannot be recognized as marriage under the existing legal system’, the court said in a statement.

‘Related laws, including the constitution and civil law, are premised on the notion of a conjugal bond meaning a union involving different sexes.’

The couple are the most high-profile same-sex couple in Korea, and the lawsuit was the first of its kind.

While the couple has always acknowledged the likelihood of a district court judge declaring same-sex marriage legal was going to be very slim, they are intending to appeal the ruling and take their case further.

‘When in doubt, all laws should be interpreted in a constitutional way,’ the couple’s lawyer Ryu Min-Hee said, according to AFP. ‘We’re disappointed but we’re not done yet.’

While homosexuality is legal in South Korea, it is still considered taboo. However, with a lot due to the rise of US and UK pop culture in the country, progress is gradually being made.