A new survey finds that four out of ten South Koreans believe that the unification of the two Koreas is necessary. 

The Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University unveiled on Tuesday the results of its survey on one-thousand-200 adults nationwide on how they view unification. 

Some 44-point-six percent said unification is very or slightly necessary. The figure was the lowest on record since related studies began in 2007. 

A little over 29 percent of respondents said unification is not necessary, with those in their 20s and 30s particularly having negative views. 

The survey found that one-point-three percent believe the two Koreas will unify within five years, less than the six-point-three percent who gave the same answer in a similar survey in 2018. The percentage of those who said it would take more than 30 years rose from 12-point-five percent in 2018 to 25-point-two percent this year. 

The institute said such figures resulted after outlooks concerning inter-Korean relations worsened due to the failure of the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi in 2019 and the demolition of the Gaeseong inter-Korean liaison office by the North last year.  

The survey conducted between July 10 and August 4 has a 95 percent confidence level with a margin of error of plus or minus two-point-eight percentage points.