The government of South Korea apologized on Wednesday for language in a manual written for youth counselors that categorized homosexuality as deviant behavior.
Homosexuality was grouped with sexual violence, theft and drug abuse under “delinquency-related issues” in the manual, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
Human rights groups, led by a support center for LGBTQ+ youth, issued a joint statement Wednesday demanding that the offending language be removed. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family responded the same day, expressing regret over the description.
“We regret that the classification of content concerning sexual minorities as a type of delinquency-related problem in the manual has caused discomfort and concern to sexual minority youth and those involved,” the ministry said in a statement.
The association of LGBTQ+ youth with juvenile delinquency in the publication, produced for “youth companions” and staff at youth counseling and welfare centers in South Korea, was first reported by local news outlets on Monday.
The manual, published by the Korea Youth Counseling & Welfare Institute, guides counselors who visit at-risk young people and connect them with counseling, welfare, healthcare, education, and other support services. The institute is affiliated with the ministry.
The categorization appeared in the first edition of the manual in 2019. The 4th edition, published in 2026, included the same language.
The institute blamed the manual’s writing team for the error, which it said had carried the wording over from outdated reference material. The ministry said it will correct the passage immediately and review the resource in its entirety in consultation with counseling experts. It pointed to another overhaul undertaken this summer to update a similar publication.
“Based on feedback gathered last December from groups supporting sexual minorities and others, we revised the youth human rights protection manual for youth shelter staff in August,” a ministry official said. “We will work to ensure that all young people can receive counseling and protection without discrimination.”
South Korea has a mixed record on LGBTQ+ rights following the country’s emergence from military dictatorship in 1988, and homosexuality is still considered taboo by a majority of its citizens.
While same-sex relations are legal in the country, homosexuality is a bar to military service. Trans service members are also barred from the military, and gender-affirming care for trans youth is illegal in the country. Transgender adults may change their gender identity on official documents.
South Korea does not recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions, but did change its census in 2025 to allow same-sex couples to identify as “spouses” or “cohabiting partners.” Adoption by same-sex couples is banned.
There are no federal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, although sexual orientation as one of several protected classes came with the creation of South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission in 2001.
While polling indicates a higher acceptance of homosexuality among young people in South Korea, a survey from Human Rights Watch revealed LGBTQ+ youth face a hostile environment in the country’s schools. A 2021 investigation found that LGBTQ+ students in South Korea face “bullying and harassment, a lack of confidential mental health support, exclusion from school curricula, and gender identity discrimination.”
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