Latest survey figures show six in 10 people in South Korea do not support marriage equality.

The Gallup Korea poll revealed only 34% of respondents supported same-sex marriages, but 58% of people were opposed to it. The poll surveyed 1004 people over a four day period at the end of May.

The majority of people who do not support marriage equality were older, while younger people were much more likely to be in favour of the issue.

Almost 90% of people agreed that LGBTI should have the same job prospects. 81% of people said LGBTI people should not lose their jobs because of their sexuality or gender identity.

Since the first poll on the issue, support for same-sex marriage has jumped by almost 20%. In 2001 only 17% of people supported marriage equality.

It is not illegal to be gay in Korea, but LGBTI issues remain taboo and largely not addressed in law or society.

In May a soldier was sentenced to suspended six month jail term for having consensual sex with another soldier. Military service is compulsory in South Korea, but the Military Criminal Act outlaws sodomy or ‘other disgraceful conduct’. Convicted soldiers could face up to two years in prison.

‘This unjust conviction should be immediately overturned,’ said Roseann Rife, East Asia research director at Amnesty International at the time of conviction.

‘No one should be persecuted based on their sexual orientation, activity or gender identity alone. What counts is their service not their sexuality.’