Fighting against HIV/AIDS hate & stigma in S.Korea

Stop the Criminalization of People Living with HIV

Our organization is consistently engaged in activities to oppose and fight against the criminalization of HIV and people living with HIV. Since South Korea still has a long-standing, harmful law that punishes people living with HIV for having sex without a condom, it is important for us to work toward its repeal and the decriminalization of people living with HIV. 

The photo above shows one of our campaign members holding a sign created by our organization at the 2026 Seoul Queer Parade. The message on the sign reads: “Sex by people living with HIV is not a crime.” Our organization believes it is important to convey this message to society in order to decriminalize people living with HIV. 

Our organization is engaging in discussions and taking action to ensure that provisions in South Korean law that criminalize people living with HIV are repealed. We are participating in discussions as part of a task force established to amend the law, and we are meeting with members of the National Assembly who are open to dialogue to discuss the issue. We are also consistently advocating to the government about why and how important the decriminalization of people living with HIV is. 

In addition, our organization directly helped organize and managed the logistics for a rally held in observance of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. The LGBTQ+ rights movement in Korea pledged to become even more active by renaming IDAHO as “LGBTQ+ Equality Day.” 

Through this rally, we made the following declaration and reaffirmed our resolve to fight. 

"Just one year ago, citizens filled this Gwanghwamun Square to defend democracy in crisis. In that square, where rainbows shimmered, people shared their stories. With trembling voices, they declared that they were members of the LGBTQ+ community, women, people with disabilities, the homeless, immigrants, people living with HIV, out-of-school youth, and victims of rental fraud. When those pushed to the margins of our society finally made their voices heard, we briefly became one with each other.

Starting this year, the Korean LGBTQ+ human rights movement will commemorate “International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia” as “May 17 LGBTQ+ Equality Day.” Having grown stronger through our struggle against hatred and discrimination, we will now demand equal rights with an even louder voice. We will not settle for merely the right to be free from hatred and discrimination; we will fight to secure full equality and rights as equal citizens of this society in every aspect of life.”

Meanwhile, our organization also held a forum to present the results of a survey on the employment conditions of people living with HIV that we conducted last year. The survey revealed that many people living with HIV in Korea give up on their dreams and careers simply because of their HIV status, or suffer from extreme fear that their HIV-positive status will be disclosed at work. 

That is why our organization has launched a petition campaign to promote the labor rights of people living with HIV. We are spreading the word about this petition campaign so that the right of people living with HIV to work can be effectively guaranteed, and so that citizens in Korea can imagine having a coworker living with HIV. We plan to submit the signatures to the relevant government agencies. 

aged the logistics for a rally held in observance of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. The LGBTQ+ rights movement in Korea pledged to become even more active by renaming IDAHO as “LGBTQ+ Equality Day.” 

Through this rally, we made the following declaration and reaffirmed our resolve to fight. 

"Just one year ago, citizens filled this Gwanghwamun Square to defend democracy in crisis. In that square, where rainbows shimmered, people shared their stories. With trembling voices, they declared that they were members of the LGBTQ+ community, women, people with disabilities, the homeless, immigrants, people living with HIV, out-of-school youth, and victims of rental fraud. When those pushed to the margins of our society finally made their voices heard, we briefly became one with each other.

Starting this year, the Korean LGBTQ+ human rights movement will commemorate “International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia” as “May 17 LGBTQ+ Equality Day.” Having grown stronger through our struggle against hatred and discrimination, we will now demand equal rights with an even louder voice. We will not settle for merely the right to be free from hatred and discrimination; we will fight to secure full equality and rights as equal citizens of this society in every aspect of life.”

Meanwhile, our organization also held a forum to present the results of a survey on the employment conditions of people living with HIV that we conducted last year. The survey revealed that many people living with HIV in Korea give up on their dreams and careers simply because of their HIV status, or suffer from extreme fear that their HIV-positive status will be disclosed at work. 

That is why our organization has launched a petition campaign to promote the labor rights of people living with HIV. We are spreading the word about this petition campaign so that the right of people living with HIV to work can be effectively guaranteed, and so that citizens in Korea can imagine having a coworker living with HIV. We plan to submit the signatures to the relevant government agencies. 

Responding to elections is one of the things our organization does. We continuously advocate and demand that the lives and rights of people living with HIV be reflected in the electoral process and its outcomes, and that they not be excluded from politics. 

We are currently working hard to prepare for the Summer Human Rights Camp for people living with HIV, which will take place in August. Dozens of people living with HIV have already signed up to participate. Through this camp, we will take time to reflect on our rights, look toward the future, and support and empower one another. 

We have also begun producing a guidebook for workers living with HIV and their employers. This resource is being developed based on the results of last year’s survey on the working conditions of workers living with HIV. 

Our organization’s work involves communicating directly with and meeting people living with HIV to offer support, conveying our advocacy messages to businesses and the government, and spreading the message throughout Korean society that we should all live alongside people living with HIV. We also provide direct counseling and respond to incidents of human rights violations and discrimination as they occur. If you’d like to help ensure our activities continue steadily and successfully, please consider making a donation. 

To mark World AIDS Day, our organization issued a statement on the equal work rights of workers living with HIV.

"Having HIV is not related to the ability to perform work, and the responsibility for creating a safe work environment and preventing infectious diseases should not be shifted to individual people living with HIV. Therefore, we must question the "healthy body" and "normality" that society and companies impose on workers. A workplace where workers with disabilities, illnesses, or impairments can work safely without discrimination is a safe workplace for all workers.

All misinformation, prejudice, and stigma that threaten the labor rights of people living with HIV must be eliminated. The right to work safely and equally without discrimination, which should be a given for all citizens, must also be guaranteed to workers living with HIV. Let's work together toward a society where the labor rights of people living with HIV are fully guaranteed.

A society where the National Assembly and the government consider and implement policies to promote the labor and human rights of people living with HIV.
A society where businesses and employers do not unfairly treat or fire workers solely based on their HIV status.
A society where HIV testing is not conducted without the consent of all HIV-positive workers, including migrant workers, and where the results are illegally withheld from employers.
A society where workers can access medical care promptly and have their right to health fully guaranteed.
A society where people with illness, disabilities, illnesses, or impairments can work safely and equally without discrimination.
A society where people do not experience discrimination or hatred based on their HIV status.

Let us fight AIDS stigma and discrimination together. Promoting the human rights of people living with HIV is the shortcut to HIV prevention, and guaranteeing the right to work without discrimination and equal access for people living with HIV promotes the right to work for everyone."

Dozens of organizations and hundreds of individuals have joined us in this statement.

And, referring to Korea's AIDS history over the past 40 years, our group, along with other solidarity groups, issued a message that the core problem is not the disease, but hate.

"In Korean society, what hurts people with HIV is not the disease itself, but the aversion to the disease and the stigma attached to it. The anxiety and fear surrounding the lives of those with HIV stem not from science, but from inaccurate information and malicious discrimination.

Today, as we mark the 40th anniversary of HIV in Korea, we propose abandoning the language of fear, morality, and norms. Let us listen to scientific facts, not manufactured fears. Let us consider solidarity and coexistence, not hatred. People living with HIV are our neighbors, fellow citizens, and friends.

We urge the Korean government to design policies based on scientific facts and transition to a public health system that places the human rights of people living with HIV at the center. We urge health authorities to cease negative and inaccurate publicity about HIV/AIDS based on moral norms and outdated prejudices, and to boldly provide accurate information and human rights-centered campaigns that meet international standards.

People living with HIV are, like everyone else, fellow human beings, and they already live alongside us as neighbors, family, and friends. We desire a society where all people living with HIV can live healthy lives, have sex without fear, and age with dignity. The HIV/AIDS human rights movement has been working to create a society where people living with HIV can live without discrimination and prejudice. Let's support and affirm the lives of people living with HIV together for an equal society."


My friend is HIV positive

We also produced a campaign video introducing a friend living with HIV. This video aims to convey the message that living with people living with HIV as neighbors, friends, and members of society is not difficult, but crucial. 

Additionally, our organization has produced an activity sharing video that visually demonstrates how well our organization has carried out its activities over the past year.

2025 Activity Video

Our organization is currently compiling and analyzing the results of a survey on the labor conditions of people living with HIV, conducted throughout 2025. We plan to prepare a report on the results and, based on this data, conduct various activities throughout the year to ensure the labor rights of people living with HIV.

Links:

• News article supporting the labor rights of people with HIV