About 39 percent of Koreans said their society was unsafe, a government survey conducted earlier this year showed.

Compared to the second half of 2013, the percentage surged roughly by 10 percentage points from 29.5 percent, according to the survey by the Ministry of Security and Public Administration. The number of people that felt safe, on the other hand, dropped from 28.5 percent to 23.9 percent during the same period.

This tendency was profound in April and May, after the fatal ferry sinking that left more than 300 dead or missing. While 32.6 percent said they felt safe in March, the ratio dropped to 18.5 percent in April and dipped further in May to 16 percent.

A total of 1,000 adults aged 19 or older, 1,000 middle and high school students and 100 experts in various fields participated in the survey.