Just under half of all new HIV infections in South Korea in 2016 came from homosexual behavior, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDCP) said Monday according to the Korea Times.

Of the 712 people newly infected with HIV in 2016, 325 people (45.6 percent) reportedly contracted the virus from homosexual activities, according to the data.

Ninety-three percent of the new infections were men and by age, people in their 40s accounted for 26.8 percent, followed by 30s (21.5 percent) and 50s (21.3 percent).

During South Korea’s 2017 presidential elections, candidate Hong Jun-pyo angered LGBT and HIV activists by claiming “because of homosexuality there are over 14,000 AIDS cases in South Korea” in a televised interview.