박원순 서울시장은 한국이 아시아 국가 중 동성 결혼을 합법화하는 첫 번째 국가가 되길 바란다”고 말했다.
미국 유력지인 샌프란시스코 이그재미너(The San Francisco Examiner)는 지난달 말 미국을 방문한 박 시장과 단독 인터뷰에서 '대만이 동성 결혼을 합법화하는 첫 아시아 국가가 될 것으로 생각하느냐’는 질문에 박 시장이 이 같이 답했다고 13일 밝혔다. 박 시장이 언론인터뷰에서 동성 결혼에 대한 입장을 공식적으로 밝힌 것은 이번이 처음이다.
박 시장은 “개인적으로 동성애자 권리를 옹호한다”면서 “현재 한국법상 동성 결혼을 인정받지 못하고 있지만 우리 모두 행복추구권을 보장받은 만큼 한국 헌법도 이 권리를 보장한다고 생각한다”고 전했다.
그는 이어 “동성애자들의 권리를 개인적으로 존중하지만 한국사회에서 개신교의 영향력이 막강하기 때문에 정치인들에게 쉽지 않은 사안”이라면서 “인권의 보편적인 개념을 동성애자에게 확대하는 것은 시민단체의 손에 달렸다”고 강조했다.
그러면서 “시민단체가 국민을 설득하면 정치인도 결국 따라 올 것”이라면서 “이 같은 변화는 한국사회에서 이미 진행 중”이라고 덧붙였다.
대만은 현재 동성결혼 합법화를 위한 법 개정을 검토 중이라고 이그재미너는 전했다.
한편 이그재미너는 박 시장은 “2017년 대선에 앞서 잠재적인 대권 주자”라고 설명하면서 그의 민주화운동 경험과 인권변호사 경력을 자세히 소개했다. 이그재미너는 또 “박 시장이 주거난, 교통난, 지속가능성 이슈와 같은 도시 문제를 해결하는데 노력하고 있다”면서 창조경제와 공유경제의 이니셔티브를 고민하기 위해 지난달 샌프란시스코를 방문했다고 보도했다.
(사진: 연합)
(코리아헤럴드 이현정기자)
<관련 영문 기사>
Seoul mayor endorses same-sex marriageSeoul mayor Park Won-soon told a U.S. newspaper that he personally supports same-sex marriage and would like to see South Korea being the first country in Asia to legalize it, during his recent visit to San Francisco.
With his comments, Park has become one of the first mainstream South Korean politician to openly support LGBT rights, following the current Gender-Equality Minister Kim Hee-jung.
Gay marriage is opposed by political conservatives and Christians, as well as a majority of the public here.
“I personally agree with the rights of homosexuals,” Park was quoted as saying by San Francisco Examiner, a Bay-area daily, in its story published online on Sunday.
“But the Protestant churches are very powerful in Korea. It isn’t easy for politicians. It’s in the hands of activists to expand the universal concept of human rights to include homosexuals. Once they persuade the people, the politicians will follow. It’s in process now.”
The former lawyer and human rights activist, who is widely considered one of the leading contenders for South Korea’s next presidency, also told the U.S. daily that he hopes to see his nation being the first in Asia to legalize gay marriage.
“Many homosexual couples in Korea are already together,” he told the paper.
"They are not legally accepted yet, but I believe the Korean constitution allows it. We are guaranteed the right to the pursuit of happiness. Of course, there may be different interpretations to what that pursuit means.”
The endorsement, however, may work against him in his political career -- especially if he plans to run for the 2016 presidential election -- as homosexuality still remains largely taboo in South Korea, where almost 30 percent of the population is Christian.
According to last year‘s research jointly conducted by a local daily and Asan Institute for Policy Studies, among 1,500 Koreans asked to participated, 78.5 percent said they objected to homosexuality. Only 21.5 percent of the participants said they did not feel “uncomfortable” with it.
While 92.4 percent of the participants in their 60s said they are against homosexuality, 57.5 percent in their 20s said the same.
In June, an annual queer parade in Seoul, one of the largest LGBT events in Asia, was disrupted by hundreds of Christians who knelt on the street and prayed in protest. Just about a week before the day of the event, Seoul’s Seodaemun-gu district revoked the permission that had previously been given to the festival organizers, after reportedly receiving complaints from conservative Christian groups. The event, which celebrated its 15th edition, was held regardless, in spite of the district office’s disapproval.
By Claire Lee (
dyc@heraldcorp.com)
