An Incheon district court has handed down a ruling that refutes the legality of same-sex marriages in South Korea. The court dismissed a lawsuit filed by a 45-year-old woman against her female cohabitant of some 20 years, in which the plaintiff demanded alimony and a portion of the couple's shared property. The two had been living as a couple under common law marriage. In dismissing the suit, the court stated that the institution of marriage in South Korea is bound to the notion of the physical and psychological union of a man and a woman. The statement went on to refuse to recognize the legality of the couple's common law marriage, saying that same-sex marriage goes against social mores and traditional family values. The issue of allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally wed is currently being hotly contested in U.S. courts as well.