About 1 in 20 young people in Seoul live in isolation or seclusion from society due mainly to difficulties in finding a job or mental problems, a survey by the city government showed.

An estimated 4.5 percent, or about 129,000, of Seoul residents aged between 19-39 were surveyed to be in social isolation or seclusion, the city government said following a survey conducted last year on 5,513 Seoul citizens in the age group.

The corresponding number for the entire country may reach 610,000 if the survey result is applied nationwide, it said.

The three biggest reasons for such social isolation cited by the respondents were unemployment or difficulties in finding a job at 45.5 percent, psychological difficulties at 40.9 percent and problems in relationships with other people at 40.3 percent, the survey showed. (Yonhap)