More than 70 percent of South Koreans fear that the advent of the fourth industrial revolution will threaten their jobs, but a greater number of them see it as a positive development that will benefit mankind, a survey showed Thursday.

The poll conducted by the Media Research Center of the Korea Press Foundation said 89.9 percent believe the job market will shrink due to the next industrial revolution, up 24.3 percentage points from the same survey a year ago. While 76.5 percent worry that their own jobs will be threatened, a bigger 83.4 percent projected that their children will face an even tougher job market. 

The center canvassed 1,041 men and women in age groups of their 20s to 50s from April 18 to 21. The results have a plus or minus 3 percentage point margin of error.

Another 85.3 percent agreed that the divide between the rich and the poor will deepen with the advent of the fourth industrial revolution.

The hardest hit job sectors, as cited by the respondents, include manufacturing (63.7 percent), bank staff (41.2 percent), office workers (29 percent), sales agents (25.4 percent), delivery service personnel (22.9 percent) and farmers (20.7 percent).

The depth of concerns about job security differed according to the level of education received, the survey indicated. Whereas 81.1 percent of people with a high school diploma or lower felt threatened, a smaller 66.7 percent of people with graduate school credentials or higher felt the same threat.

Despite such concerns, 82.6 percent of the people saw the event as beneficial to mankind. A similar 82.4 percent said it will drive new economic growth, while 73.6 percent said it will raise the importance of the welfare system.

Respondents wanted creative education (31.3 percent) in order for people to be prepared for the fourth industrial revolution.

They also wanted emphasis on computer engineering (26.1 percent), engineering (18.2 percent) and humanities (11 percent).

As for government policies, the polled wanted innovative secondary education (23.6 percent), measures on unemployment and welfare (21.6 percent) and support for new technology development (19.7 percent). (Yonhap)