By Choi Sung-jin
A majority of Koreans think their society does not abide by the law. More than half also say they support the recent decision that found the legal punishment of prostitution constitutional.
According to a survey of 3,000 Koreans conducted by Korea Legislation Research Institute, 50.1 percent of the respondents said “no” to the question of whether or not they think the law is well observed in this society. To the same query, 46.6 percent said “yes,” and 3.5 percent said that laws are not kept at all in Korea.
More than four out of 10 Koreans, or 41.7 percent, said the government is not faithfully observing the law, either.
Nearly six out of 10 Koreans, 59.5 percent, supported the Constitutional Court’s decision on Thursday that approved the Special Law on Prostitution, which punishes sexual workers with a maximum of one year in jail or a penalty of 3 million won ($2,500).
With respect to the abolition of the Adultery Law, 65.6 percent are against it, especially among women, with 76.7 percent against getting rid of the law, far outweighing that of men, with 54.5 percent against it.
More respondents also opposed the abolition of capital punishment than those who want the death sentence to end, and a larger number of respondents are optimistic that the government’s recent anticorruption law that prohibits public officials from receiving bribes will “produce effects.”
“Although Korea is trying to enhance the rule of law in the various facets of society, observance of the law still falls short of popular expectations,” an official at the institute said. “The government should actively reflect the people’s views in revising and implementing the law.”