Cutting Back on Travel and Dining Out... 73% of Koreans Say "Middle East War Affects Spending"

Wallets Close Amid Concerns Over Rising Prices

Clear Preference for Government Price Stabilization Measures

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As concerns over rising oil prices and economic instability have grown due to the prolonged Middle East war, a survey found that approximately 73% of the public have felt an increase in the cost of living and have reduced spending on dining out, travel, and other activities.

The Media Research Center of the Korea Press Foundation published a report on the 19th titled "Information on the Middle East War and Public Perceptions of the Economic Situation," based on a survey conducted last month of 1,000 adults nationwide in their 20s to 60s.

According to the survey, 77.8% of respondents said they experienced anxiety after encountering information related to the Middle East war. By gender, women (82.4%) reported a higher rate of anxiety than men. By age group, those in their 50s (81.5%) and 30s (79.2%) showed relatively higher rates of anxiety.

The causes of anxiety were closely tied to daily economic concerns. Respondents cited "concerns about rising oil prices and inflation" (96.6%) and "worsening economic recession" (94.2%) as major reasons. Only 67.4% cited "concerns about Korea's defense and security situation" as a source of anxiety, indicating that the public perceives the war more as an issue of prices and the economy rather than a military crisis, according to the foundation.

Additionally, 88.2% of respondents said they felt an increase in the cost of living since the Middle East war, and 72.8% reported that their consumption habits had been affected. This indicates that economic anxiety has led to actual changes in spending behavior.

When asked about specific areas where they had reduced consumption, "dining out" was cited the most at 43.6%. This was followed by "reducing or canceling travel" at 43.2%. "Reduced use of private vehicles" due to high oil prices was also reported by 41.2% of respondents.

Concerns about the supply of medical and hygiene products were reported by 77.8% of respondents. However, only 12.7% said they had purchased more daily necessities than usual, suggesting that this anxiety has not yet led to panic buying.

In terms of government response policies, there was a strong preference for direct price stabilization measures. The highest level of support was for a fuel tax cut, with 88.4% of respondents in favor. The introduction of an oil price cap was also supported by 86.3%.

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