7 in 10 salaried workers want to leave Korea

By Lee Hyo-sik

More than seven out of every 10 salaried workers want to leave Korea to settle down in Australia or other foreign countries, citing the nation’s “poor social safety net,” a survey showed Wednesday.

In a survey of 932 employees nationwide, conducted by online recruiter JobKorea, 76.1 percent said they would like to emigrate if they could.

Of them, 62.5 percent cited Korea’s poor social welfare system as the single biggest reason making them opt for resettlement overseas. Respondents were allowed to give multiple answers.

Nearly 50 percent cited the widening gap between the rich and the poor, followed by the tight labor market at 47.8 percent. Other reasons that make them long for other countries are excessive private education costs, and geopolitical risks associated with North Korea.

Among those who chose to remain in Korea, 51.1 percent said they would like to continue to live here because they would face difficulties in adapting to a new environment abroad. About 45 percent said they are reluctant to emigrate because they would miss friends and family members, with 31 percent saying they are content with the way things are in life.

Australia was the most popular destination for Korean workers, with 14.3 percent choosing the nation, followed by Switzerland, Japan, Canada, France, Britain and the United States.

Around 73.3 percent said the most important criteria in picking their destinations was whether the nation has a proper social safety net or not.

직장인 10명 중 7명은 한국을 떠나고 싶어해

직장인 10명 중 7명 이상이 이민이 가능하다면 한국을 떠나고 싶어하는 것으로 조사됐다.

미흡한 복지정책이 한국을 떠나고 싶은 주된 이유로 꼽혔다.

23일 취업포털 잡코리아가 직장인 932명을 대상으로 설문조사한 결과에 따르면, 실제 이민이 가능하다면 한국을 떠날 의향이 있는가에 대해 응답자 76.1%가 ‘떠난다’를 선택했다. 떠나고 싶은 이유(복수응답)로 ‘미흡한 복지정책’이 62.5%로 가장 많았다.

그 뒤로 ‘빈부격차 심화(49.5%)’, ‘심각한 실업률(47.8%)’, ‘지나친 사교육비(35.5%)’ ‘전쟁 불안감(18.2%)’, ‘환경오염(11.1%)’ 등의 순이었다.