[AKY News Poll] Support for 'Lee Jae-yong Pardon' Holds at 65% Despite Waning Debate

"'Support for Pardon' Public Opinion Falls by 4.4 Percentage Points Compared to Previous Survey"

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is attending the retrial sentencing hearing of the state affairs manipulation case at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of January 18. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] The 'Lee Jae-yong pardon theory' seems to be losing momentum and stalling.

When asked, "What do you think about the claim that Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong should be pardoned?" 65% expressed support. 'Opposed' accounted for 27.8%, and 'Don't know' was 7.1%. Although the support was significantly higher, it decreased compared to the previous survey. Compared to the survey conducted by the same organization on April 24-25 (1,008 men and women aged 18 and over nationwide, with a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, 100% mobile phone virtual numbers via wireless ARS), the support rate dropped by 4.4 percentage points. Opposition increased by 4.6 percentage points.

Support for the pardon was highest among those in their 60s (82.6%), followed by those aged 70 and over (73.2%), 50s (70.9%), 30s (57.1%), 40s (56%), and 18-29 years old (53.9%).

By region, Daegu·Gyeongbuk (TK) and Busan·Ulsan·Gyeongnam (PK) showed relatively high support at 74.1% and 70.5%, respectively. However, Gwangju·Jeolla (55.9%), Daejeon·Sejong·Chungcheong (60%), and Seoul (63.9%) also had majority support.

Public opinion sharply diverged depending on the political party supported. Among People Power Party supporters, 89.4% demanded the pardon of Vice Chairman Lee, with only 7.1% opposed. In contrast, among Democratic Party supporters, 42.1% supported and 49.2% opposed.

This survey was conducted by Asia Economy through Win-G Korea Consulting targeting voters aged 18 and over nationwide on the 29th and 30th, with 1,045 respondents and an overall response rate of 10.4%. The survey method was 100% mobile phone virtual numbers via wireless ARS, and the sample was extracted using weighted values by gender, age, and region based on the resident registration population as of the end of January from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (cell weighting). The sampling error is ±3.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For detailed survey information, refer to the Win-G Korea Consulting website or the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

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