S Korea transexual singer ties the knot

SEOUL, May 19 (Reuters) A South Korean transsexual entertainer, whose sex change helped the country to change its family registry laws, was married today.

The 32-year-old male-to-female singer, who goes by the stage name Harisu, married her 27-year-old rapper boyfriend at a ceremony attended by many of the country's top celebrities.

The surgeon who performed Harisu's sex change operation in 1995 acted as the ceremonial head of the wedding. The couple will spend their honeymoon in Koh Samui, Thailand.

''I will become a wife who cooks well and is sweet, sexy and like a friend,'' Harisu told a news conference before the wedding. ''We will adopt two boys and two girls.'' Transsexualism became a hot topic in South Korea after Harisu was granted a petition by a lower court to change gender in the family registry in 2002.

In June 2006, South Korea's Supreme Court ruled transsexuals who have had medical treatment such as sex change operations can legally change their sex in their family registry, a crucial legal document for citizens.

The family registry and unique personal identification numbers associated with it form the basis of almost all aspects of South Koreans' lives, from getting a job, claiming medical insurance, and even subscribing to a mobile phone service.

REUTERS AGL HT1432