SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- More than seven out of 10 South Koreans said they live in "an unfair society," a survey showed Wednesday, despite the government's ongoing campaign highlighting the issue.
In the telephone survey of 1,000 citizens older than 19 nationwide, 72.6 percent said Korean society is either "not very" or "far from" fair. Those who see the society impartial reached 26.7 percent, it showed.
The survey was conducted by the Office of the Special Affairs Minister last month, with the result becoming available earlier in the day by Rep. Park Ki-choon of the main opposition Democratic Party before the parliamentary interpellation session.
The survey, however, did not specify any reasons behind their evaluation on the society.
By age group, a larger number of young respondents regarded the society as unfair than their older counterparts. Some 75.7 percent of those aged 19-29 answered that society is not even-handed, while 75.6 percent of those in their 30s, 73.4 percent of those in their 40s, 72.4 percent of those in their 50s, and 65.0 percent of those in their 60s replied so, according to the poll.
It also found that more than half of the surveyed believe the government has failed to strive to bring fairness to the society, while 73.1 percent said things have gotten worse under the current government compared to the former liberal government led by late President Roh Moo-hyun.
The survey result runs counter to the government's "fair society" campaign that President Lee Myung-bak has pushed for since the beginning of the second half of his term.
