Nearly half of S. Koreans say they do not trust courts: survey

SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- Nearly 50 percent of South Koreans said they do not trust the judiciary, a poll showed Friday, while less than 30 percent expressed trust in two new agencies launched after abolishing the prosecution's investigative right last month.

A Gallup Korea poll, conducted on 1,001 adults from Tuesday to Thursday, showed that 47 percent of the respondents expressed distrust of the courts, up 3 percentage points from the previous survey conducted in April last year.

Forty-one percent said they trusted the courts, down 5 percentage points.

The survey also showed that public trust in the Constitutional Court had declined after the court upheld the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol in April last year over his martial law bid.

Compared with last year's survey, 49 percent said they trusted the Constitutional Court, down 12 percentage points, while distrust rose 5 percentage points to 36 percent.

In the same poll, 29 percent said they trusted the Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA), tasked with handling major crimes, compared with 49 percent who did not.

Twenty-five percent expressed trust in the Public Prosecution Service (PSS), while 50 percent expressed distrust.

The SCIA and PSS were launched Oct. 2 as part of a sweeping prosecution reform that separated investigative and prosecutorial powers after 78 years of the prosecution service holding both roles.

julesyi@yna.co.kr
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