New data finds that South Koreans perceived the discord between conservative and progressive forces as the most serious social conflict last year. 

According to the 2024 Social Indicators in Korea report, released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday, 77-and-a-half percent of South Koreans picked disagreement between conservative and progressive forces as the most serious conflict in society. 

Though that is lower than the 2023 figure of nearly 83 percent, this year’s responses were compiled in August and September, well before the December 3 martial law incident. 

Discord between the poor and middle class emerged as the second-most-serious conflict in the eyes of the populace, followed by friction between laborers and employers. 

The statistics agency also found that 21-point-one percent of South Korean adults aged 19 or older felt lonely, up two-point-six percentage points from the previous year.