77% of Seoul Citizens Trust Seoul City and Mayor's Response to COVID-19

Seoul Institute Survey, "Seoul's Severity About 10%p Lower Than Nationwide Situation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] More than 7 out of 10 Seoul citizens are shown to trust the public response of Seoul City and the Mayor of Seoul to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Seoul City announced on the 10th that the results came from a joint survey conducted by the Seoul Institute and Professor Yum Yoosoon of Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health, targeting 813 Seoul citizens aged 18 and older from April 28 to May 1, titled 'Seoul Citizens' COVID-19 Risk Perception Survey.'

In this survey, when asked separately about the severity of the COVID-19 situation nationwide and in Seoul, Seoul citizens perceived the severity of the COVID-19 situation in Seoul to be about 10 percentage points lower than the nationwide situation.

Regarding adherence to daily quarantine guidelines, 85.2% responded that they are willing to accept a new normal even if it involves additional personal and social costs, efforts, and inconveniences, showing a relatively high acceptance.

For the recently announced core personal guideline of daily quarantine, "If you are sick, rest at home for 3 to 4 days," 68.6% believed that such behavior would help prevent infection (efficacy belief), whereas only 49.1% answered that they actually always do so, showing a gap.

Also, 70% believed that "refraining from going out" helps prevent infection, but only 25.2% reported that they always practice this, showing the largest gap.

As of the survey date, the most frequent place where both the respondent and the other party met or talked without masks in the past week was "restaurants, cafes, and other food establishments" at 51.2%, followed by "workplaces and schools (15.7%)," "public transportation facilities (5%)," and "entertainment venues (4.2%)."

Additionally, 13.4% responded that they needed medical treatment after the COVID-19 outbreak but did not receive or could not receive it, with the most common reason being "thinking hospitals are risky (62.4%)."

Furthermore, 76.5% of Seoul citizens expressed trust in the public response of Seoul City and the Mayor of Seoul, and 66.9% answered that they "feel pride as citizens" in the COVID-19 response encompassing Seoul City, private medical personnel and institutions, and all Seoul citizens.

Also, 67.7% responded that "the COVID-19 experience will bring new opportunities to Seoul," and 54.7% said, "Seoul will leap forward as a global city leader thanks to COVID-19."

When asked which keyword Seoul City should keep in mind most importantly in the 'post-COVID' era, among 12 suggested words, the order was "Safety" 31.7%, "Prevention" 24.2%, "Quarantine" 18.2%, "Health" 7.5%, and "Reassurance" 7%.

This survey also attempted to diagnose mental health issues and identify the demand for psychological care that may arise from the prolonged state of emergency due to the novel infectious disease.

Using the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI), a tool for measuring immediate trauma stress, the level of disaster-related stress caused by the COVID-19 situation was diagnosed among Seoul citizens. Only 5.8% belonged to the "group not requiring monitoring (7 points or less)." Meanwhile, 14.9% were in a "high stress state requiring immediate help (28 points or more)," and 79.3% required "additional monitoring (7 to 28 points)."

Analysis of the relationship between these 13 item scores and depression confirmed a statistically significant correlation between the two variables. The higher the disaster-related stress, the more likely individuals are to actually feel depressed due to COVID-19.

The survey sampled proportionally by region, gender, and age group, with a maximum allowable sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.