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discussions and taking action to ensure that provisions in South Korean law that criminalize people living with HIV are repealed.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.