hankyoreh

South Koreans rank high in demanding government action to prevent racial and ethnic discrimination, but they also believe employers should have the right to refuse to hire a job seeker based on race and ethnicity, according to poll results released Friday.

Ninety-six percent of the people said they think the government should try to prevent discrimination, the highest among 16 countries canvassed, according to the survey conducted by the WorldPublicOpinion.Org. The overall average was 79 percent.

The poll coincided with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It covered responses from 14,896 people from countries across America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. In South Korea, the survey was conducted Feb. 11-12 through telephone calls to 600 people.

Ninety-one percent, also the highest among polled nations, said the government should do more to prevent discrimination, compared to an average of 54 percent.

Asked if they thought racial equality has improved during their lifetime, a robust 71 percent answered yes, well above the average of 59 percent, while 8 percent said there was less equality.

Palestinians were the only ones who did not perceive progress, with a majority of 54 percent saying different races and ethnicities were now treated less equally than in the past.

But despite the strong call for government action, South Korea had the largest number of people (41 percent) saying the employers should be allowed to refuse hiring a qualified person because of the person's race or ethnicity.

The average on this question was 19 percent.

Asked if the government should prevent employers from discriminating, 53 percent said yes, below the average 60 percent.

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Yonhap)