South Koreans who oppose the Seoul Queer Culture Festival for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people protest in Seoul on July 14, 2018. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — A larger share of South Koreans believe that discrimination is more serious than human rights violations in Korean society, a survey showed.
According to a survey conducted by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea of 17,593 adults over 19 years of age across the country, 41.8 percent of the respondents answered that human rights violations are a serious issue in South Korean society, lower than the 47.4 percent who thought that the degree of discrimination is serious in the country.
In response to a question asking about the most vulnerable group for human rights violations and discrimination (multiple answers possible), 35.6 percent picked the economically disadvantaged, followed by disabled people at 32.9 percent, migrants at 22.3 percent and those with low educational attainment at 16.7 percent.
When it came to the most likely situations where human rights violations or discrimination might occur, 36.7 percent of the respondents answered ‘investigation or interrogation by the police or prosecutors.’
In reply to a question asking about the perpetrators of human rights violations or discrimination (multiple answers possible), 65.2 percent picked ‘non-acquaintances or those with no close relationship.’
As for their response to human rights violations and discrimination, 72.8 percent of the respondents answered ‘no special response,’ indicating that a majority of Koreans remain passive to human rights violations and discrimination.
Another 33.9 percent said that active response could make the situation worse, followed by 21.8 percent who said the issues were not serious enough to require intervention, and 21.6 percent who said they didn’t know how to respond in that type of situation.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
