By Choi Sung-jin

One in two Koreans think the nation needs a law that punishes people who do not help strangers in critical situations, a survey shows.

According to the Realmeter opinion poll on whether Korea needs the so-called Good Samaritans Law, 53.8 percent of the people agreed that it is necessary so authorities can punish those who do not help people in an emergency.

The survey was held amid controversy over a couple who left without helping their taxi driver who lost consciousness at the wheel last month. Other passers-by called 119 but the driver died in an ambulance.

The share of those who agreed with the need for the law was 14.7 percentage points higher than the 39.1 percent who opposed it because helping people in an emergency is a moral decision. The other 7.1 percent said they were not sure.

By age, pros and cons were almost even among people in their 20s and 30s but for those aged 40 or older positive replies outweighed negative ones. People aged 60 or more showed the highest ratio of support -- 62.9 percent.

By vocation, housewives were the most positive supporters (56.6 percent), followed by the self-employed (54.7 percent), office workers (51.87 percent) and students (48 percent).

Realmeter surveyed 524 people aged 19 or older on Aug. 31, using smartphone apps and automatic reply services. The result has a confidence level of 95 percent, with sampling errors of plus or minus 4.3 percent.