Government's Stance on North Korea: "Hardline" 40.6% vs "Conciliatory" 32.1%... Majority Support for Ban on Anti-North Korea Leaflets

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Public opinion favors a tougher stance, such as reinforcing the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, over a conciliatory approach in the government's North Korea policy. Meanwhile, support for the enactment of a law banning the distribution of anti-North Korea leaflets was higher than opposition.

According to a poll conducted by Realmeter on the 19th at the request of YTN's 'The News' regarding the 'Government's response direction on North Korea policy,' 40.6% responded that a tough stance, including reinforcing the scaled-down South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, should be pursued, while 32.1% said a conciliatory approach, such as persuading the U.S. to ease some sanctions on North Korea, should be pursued, the results were announced on the 22nd. Those who said the current North Korea policy should be maintained with patience accounted for 15.9%.

Compared to the same survey in January, support for a tough stance increased by 4.5 percentage points, support for a conciliatory approach rose by 6.8 percentage points, while maintaining the current policy dropped by 12.2 percentage points.

By region, support for a 'tough stance' was highest in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (49.9%), Daegu and Gyeongbuk (47.7%), and Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong (42.0%), while a 'conciliatory approach' was most favored in Gwangju and Jeolla at 41.9%. In Seoul and Gyeonggi-Incheon, responses for 'tough stance' and 'conciliatory approach' were nearly equal.

By age group, those in their 30s (51.5%), 70 and older (38.9%), and 20s (38.8%) favored a 'tough stance,' while those in their 40s showed more support for a 'conciliatory approach' at 41.0%. In the 50s and 60s age groups, responses for 'tough stance' and 'conciliatory approach' were evenly split.

By ideological inclination and party support, conservatives, moderates, and supporters of the United Future Party, as well as non-affiliated voters, favored a 'tough stance,' whereas progressives, Democratic Party, and Open Democratic Party supporters leaned toward a 'conciliatory approach.'

Regarding the enactment of the 'Law to Ban the Distribution of Anti-North Korea Leaflets,' 53.2% supported it, while 37.9% opposed it. Compared to a survey on the same topic conducted on the 10th, support increased by 3.2 percentage points, and opposition decreased by 2.2 percentage points.

By region, support was highest in Gwangju and Jeolla (support 68.0% vs. opposition 26.0%), followed by Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong (57.8% vs. 38.4%), Seoul (56.4% vs. 36.3%), and Gyeonggi-Incheon (54.5% vs. 33.8%). In Daegu-Gyeongbuk and Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam, the responses were evenly split.

By age group, support was higher among those in their 40s (62.7% vs. 32.9%), 50s (60.5% vs. 36.4%), and 30s (55.9% vs. 42.7%), while those in their 60s, 70 and older, and 20s showed nearly equal support and opposition.

By ideological inclination and party support, progressives, Open Democratic Party, and Democratic Party supporters mostly supported the law, while conservatives and United Future Party supporters mostly opposed it.

This survey contacted 11,120 adults nationwide aged 18 and older, with a final 500 respondents completing the survey, resulting in a 4.5% response rate. The sampling error is ±4.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.