Students trust strangers over politicians and companies

College students gather at Seoul City Hall for an orientation of a winter part-time job program, on Jan. 9. / Yonhap

College students said they rarely trust politicians and companies, a recent survey showed Monday.

Only 2.6 percent of 2,300 college students surveyed said they trusted politicians, according to Hyundai Research Institute, which conducted the poll last November.

Notably, some 8.4 percent of participants responded that they trust strangers, a higher percentage that those who trusted politicians.

Meanwhile, only 7.7 percent of participants said they trust companies.

The institute said that recent scandals such as Korean Air’s “nut rage” incident have deteriorated the public’s trust in the corporate sector.

Controversy has swirled around Korean Air since last month, when former vice president Heather Cho threw a tantrum at John F. Kennedy International Airport over the way she was served macadamia nuts.

Participants said they trusted family members the most, at 95.8 percent, followed by friends at 88.1 percent, according to the survey.

“Given that only family and friends scored more than 50 percent in the survey, social capital appears to be lacking in Korea,” said Kim Byung-kyu, a representative of the research institute.