Half of South Koreans believe that children are not provided sufficient protection from accidents, a survey showed Sunday.

The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs said they surveyed 2,005 adults nationwide and that 40 percent of them had cited improving the dangerous environment of children as the most imminent task.

Respondents included 1,005 households with children and 1,000 without children. 

On a scale of 1 (least safe) to 5 (safest) in terms of children exposed to safety accidents, the average gave 2.59 points.

Some 39.4 percent said society is “not very safe,” while 7.4 percent said it is “extremely unsafe.” Only 0.5 percent and 12.2 percent said “very safe” and “somewhat safe,” respectively, with another 40.5 percent saying the safety level was average.

The most dangerous venues for children are “roads and alleys” (682 percent) followed by “schools and nearby areas” (12.2 percent) and playground, theme park or valleys (7.2 percent).

The report also pointed out that while accidents at home occurred most commonly, only 3.9 percent picked “inside home” as the least safe place.

Not following due regulations, or not punishing cases of safety violations were selected as the main cause of the society being dangerous to kids. Some also cited lack of safety education. Households with no kids tended to blame it more on lack of education, while those with children faulted lax punishment.

Most said the overall environment must be changed, while some suggested increasing penalties for violation and enacting new laws on safety. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)