By Kim Hyun-bin
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) will conduct a nationwide survey next year to find out the severity of gambling addiction in the country, the first of its kind here.
The move is part of the "regional health survey," which is the only local statistics gathered under the Regional Public Health Act that surveys local residents' health conditions. The survey is undertaken every two years, but the gambling addiction questions will be newly added. It will be conducted in 2019 in 17 major cities and provinces and 253 cities and counties _ the results will be released a year later.
The KCDC will look into several aspects of gambling and its effects including whether it negatively affects people's daily lives _ if the person has lied about their gambling habit, and whether they have the urge to gamble.
According to the Korea Center on Gambling Problems (KCGP), a state-run agency, as of 2016 there are close to 2 million people, or 5.1 percent of the population over the age of 20, who are addicted to gambling.
Gambling addiction has become a severe social issue, having a negative effect on society.
"When addicted to online gambling, the individuals lack responsibility and a moral sense. They also tend to dream of making a fortune at one time, which reduces their ability to build correct values," said Kim Kyung-jin, head of the KCGP's North Chungcheong Province branch.
One out of seven people in the country have some sort of addition, including gambling, alcohol, drugs or internet use, according to the KCDC. The socioeconomic costs of these addictions are estimated to exceed 109 trillion won ($97.5 billion).
Gambling has become more prevalent in recent years with the growing use of the internet and smartphones.
"Online gambling has become common and it is hard to distinguish between illegal gambling and other games, but there is not enough preventative education," said Kim Se-jin, head of the KCGP's Daejeon branch. "First we need education and an anti-gambling campaign before trying to treat the addiction."
In 2016, the illegal gambling market was estimated at 83 trillion won and closely correlated to crimes and suicides.
The gambling problem doesn't only affect the individual but causes secondary damage to people around the addict. Experts point out the need for the government to handle the issue as a public threat and come up with countermeasures to better deal with the problem.
The KCGP runs 14 regional rehabilitation centers nationwide that focus on prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, but the centers have faced difficulty as there are no accurate statistics on gambling addicts in each region.
The survey is expected to help the regional centers come up with customized countermeasures to better prevent and treat gambling addiction in their areas.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) will conduct a nationwide survey next year to find out the severity of gambling addiction in the country, the first of its kind here.
The move is part of the "regional health survey," which is the only local statistics gathered under the Regional Public Health Act that surveys local residents' health conditions. The survey is undertaken every two years, but the gambling addiction questions will be newly added. It will be conducted in 2019 in 17 major cities and provinces and 253 cities and counties _ the results will be released a year later.
The KCDC will look into several aspects of gambling and its effects including whether it negatively affects people's daily lives _ if the person has lied about their gambling habit, and whether they have the urge to gamble.
According to the Korea Center on Gambling Problems (KCGP), a state-run agency, as of 2016 there are close to 2 million people, or 5.1 percent of the population over the age of 20, who are addicted to gambling.
Gambling addiction has become a severe social issue, having a negative effect on society.
"When addicted to online gambling, the individuals lack responsibility and a moral sense. They also tend to dream of making a fortune at one time, which reduces their ability to build correct values," said Kim Kyung-jin, head of the KCGP's North Chungcheong Province branch.
One out of seven people in the country have some sort of addition, including gambling, alcohol, drugs or internet use, according to the KCDC. The socioeconomic costs of these addictions are estimated to exceed 109 trillion won ($97.5 billion).
Gambling has become more prevalent in recent years with the growing use of the internet and smartphones.
"Online gambling has become common and it is hard to distinguish between illegal gambling and other games, but there is not enough preventative education," said Kim Se-jin, head of the KCGP's Daejeon branch. "First we need education and an anti-gambling campaign before trying to treat the addiction."
In 2016, the illegal gambling market was estimated at 83 trillion won and closely correlated to crimes and suicides.
The gambling problem doesn't only affect the individual but causes secondary damage to people around the addict. Experts point out the need for the government to handle the issue as a public threat and come up with countermeasures to better deal with the problem.
The KCGP runs 14 regional rehabilitation centers nationwide that focus on prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, but the centers have faced difficulty as there are no accurate statistics on gambling addicts in each region.
The survey is expected to help the regional centers come up with customized countermeasures to better prevent and treat gambling addiction in their areas.
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