The Most Urgent Environmental Issue Chosen by the Public is 'Waste'

A public opinion survey revealed that the most urgent environmental issue perceived by the people is waste management.

According to a survey conducted over the past year by the Central Environmental Dispute Mediation Committee under the Ministry of Environment through the Korea Gallup Research Institute, 31.8% of the general public identified waste disposal as the "most urgent area for improvement" among environmental issues. This response rate slightly increased from 29.2% the previous year.

In particular, the smaller the city size, the more seriously waste issues were perceived. Among residents living in counties or smaller areas, 40.9% mentioned waste problems, which was higher than in small to medium-sized cities (32.5%) and metropolitan cities (29.7%).

The second most frequently cited environmental issue was air pollution, mentioned by 29.8% overall. Plastic pollution followed at 20.7%, then water pollution (6.4%), marine pollution (4.6%), radioactive contamination (2.4%), and noise pollution (1.0%).

The top environmental issue that people wanted to resolve first in their current living area was also waste disposal. 36.3% of all respondents chose waste problems. Those who selected air pollution and odors accounted for 31.2%, noise, vibration, and dust 14.3%, and water and soil pollution 6.4%.

The percentage of people who reported experiencing environmental damage was 15.8%, slightly down from 17.4% the previous year. It was confirmed that the experience of environmental damage was higher among residents living in Seoul. 21.7% of respondents living in Seoul reported having experienced environmental damage, while the response rate in other regions ranged from 10% to 17%.

By occupation, those in agriculture, forestry, livestock, and fisheries had a higher response rate at 31.1%, compared to unemployed (22.2%), self-employed (16.5%), and white-collar workers (17.1%).

Among those who experienced environmental damage, 31.6% mentioned suffering from "damage caused by air pollution or odors." "Damage from construction and road works" accounted for 22.2%, and "damage from noise between floors in apartment complexes" was 10.9%.

Despite experiencing damage, 65% took no particular action. 18.2% filed complaints with administrative agencies, and 7.1% said they protested to the perpetrators. Compared to the previous year, the percentage of respondents who took no action increased by 6 percentage points.