People line up to buy lottery tickets at a shop in northern Seoul on Feb. 7, 2019. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — A majority of South Korean workers purchase lottery tickets every week, a recent survey revealed.
According to an online survey of 1,356 office workers conducted by online job portal Saramin, 84.4 percent said they had purchased lottery tickets.
By gender, 88.4 percent of men purchased lottery tickets, 8.3 percentage points higher rates than the 80.1 percent of women who did likewise.
With regards to marital status, 89.1 percent of the married individuals purchased lottery tickets, a higher rate than for single people, at 81.3 percent.
The top spending choice among respondents if they were to win the lottery was purchasing real estate, accounting for 41.2 percent.
This was followed by 15 percent choosing “use the money for family,” 11 percent citing “keep it in bank account,” 9.9 percent wanting to “pay off debt,” and 8.4 percent wishing to “proudly resign from job.”
The desired winnings averaged 3.6 billion won (US$2.96 million). Depending on marital status, unmarried people wished for 4 billion won, 700 million won more than married (3.3 billion won).
As for the biggest reason why respondents bought lottery tickets, 73.3 percent chose “Because I want to live a financially satisfied life.”
Next was 28.6 percent citing “to contribute to owning a house,” 19 percent wishing “to quit my job,” 18.4 percent choosing “not enough annual salary” and 16.6 percent wanting “to pay off debts.”
When it comes to the timing of the lottery tickets purchase, 54.8 percent said they sometimes buy them when they think of it. There were then 29.4 percent who “buy on a regular basis” and 15.7 percent who “buy when they have a good dream.”
Respondents spent an average of 22,000 won (US$16.45) a month on lottery ticket purchases.
Meanwhile, 71.5 percent of workers who had purchased lottery tickets said they would continue to work even if they won the lottery.
For this reason, 47.3 percent agreed that “work is the driving force of life.”
Next in line were 37.1 percent wishing to “make money as long as I can,” 22.1 percent liking “sense of social belonging,” and 21.4 percent citing “low prize money.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
