88% of people don't trust MERS data

By Jhoo Dong-chan

Nearly 9 out of 10 people think that information from the government on the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is not transparent and prompt enough, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Four weeks after the first MERS patient was reported in the country, Seoul-based pollster RealMeter surveyed 500 men and women aged over 19 nationwide, Monday, to gauge how people evaluate the government’s response to the outbreak.

Of them, 443 people, or 88.6 percent, negatively rated the MERS information released by the government, saying it was “not helpful” or “not enough.”

Only 41, or 8.2 percent, had a positive reaction, according to the survey.

Jeolla Province topped the list of negative reactions with 95.2 percent, followed by Seoul, with 89.6 percent, and Gyeonggi Province, with 89 percent.

By age brackets, those in their 20s had the most negative views at 94 percent followed by those in their 30s and 40s at 93.3 percent and 92.6 percent, respectively.

While releasing the results of a joint study about the MERS outbreak alongside the World Health Organization (WHO), the joint research team said June 13 that the government failed to contain the MERS virus because it did not provide prompt and correct information to the public.

RealMeter also assessed the public’s trust in the government’s countermeasures against the spread of MERS.

Nearly 70 percent of the respondents said they do not trust government policy on MERS, while only 27.2 percent were confident about it.

Also, 60.4 percent of the respondents said that Health Minister Moon Hyung-pyo should be sacked as he failed to contain the MERS virus from spreading. Only 19.9 percent opposed a change in health minister.

Even 43 percent of supporters of the ruling Saenuri Party agreed to the sacking of Moon, while 34.8 percent disagreed.