7 out of 10 Koreans distrust government officials

The National Assembly Plenary Chamber

Only 50% think the nation’s courts rule fairly

A majority of South Koreans have lost their trust in the government, with seven out of 10 suspecting that at least half of public servants are corrupt, a survey showed.

According to the survey, conducted by the Korea Development Institute, the Korean public distrusted the National Assembly the most, followed by political parties, government agencies, the prosecution, courts, and police. On a scale of 0-10, with 10 being full trust and 0 being no trust, those groups were rated at or below 5. The survey, commissioned by Ministry of Planning and Budget, was carried out on a total of 1,500 people through one-on-one interviews, the institute said.

According to the survey, the National Assembly received the lowest score of 3.0, followed by political parties (3.3), the central government (3.4), local goverments (3.9), the prosecution (4.2), courts (4.3), the police (4.5), trade unions (4.6), large firms (4.7), the military (4.9), the press (4.9), and educational institutions and civil organizations (5.4). Most markedly, people’s trust in the National Assembly, political parties, and the central and local governments was lower than the trust they held in a perfect stranger met on the street; that unfamiliar face scored 4.0.

Seven out of ten South Koreans polled said that at least one in every two public servants is corrupt, with only five percent saying that public servants abide by the law.

Those who believe that the nation’s courts rule fairly stood at only 50 percent, while only 43 percent said that the police carry out law enforcement in a fair manner.

The state-run institute explained that South Koreans have grown accustomed to an atmosphere of distrust. "During the Korean War, the nation’s unprecedently rapid urbanization, and its authoritarian industrialization, distrust in others appeared to be essential for survival, and thus the idea of ’trust’ in our society as a whole seems to have collapsed."

Han Jun, professor of Yonsei University, had this explanation: "Development of the Internet, the fast spread of information, conflict amid democratization, and a sluggish pace of reform by the government - all these have played a role in the record-low trust levels in public organs," "Efforts to regain the public’s trust are needed now more than ever, for the sake of the nation’s development and social integration."

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