[AKYUNG Poll] 48.6% Support Nationwide Disaster Relief Payments

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Nearly half of the public opinion supports providing disaster relief funds to all citizens nationwide. About 35% are in favor of the plan to provide funds to the bottom 80% income group, while around 15% oppose the payment altogether. As the fourth wave of COVID-19 begins, the political sphere is leaning towards nationwide distribution.

According to a public opinion survey conducted by Asia Economy through Win-G Korea Consulting on the 10th and 11th, 48.6% responded in favor of "maintaining the total government budget for providing 250,000 KRW to the bottom 80% income group but lowering the amount to 200,000 KRW per person and distributing it to all citizens."

Responses supporting the government plan to provide funds to 80% of the population stood at 35.1%, while 14.6% opposed the disaster relief fund payment altogether.

By age group, those in their 40s and 50s showed the highest support for nationwide distribution at 58.5% and 58.4%, respectively, likely reflecting their relatively higher income levels. In contrast, only 37.3% of those in their 60s supported nationwide payment. Support among those aged 18-29 was 42.6%, 44.9% for those in their 30s, and 45.5% for those aged 70 and above.

By region, support for nationwide distribution was highest in Gyeonggi·Incheon at 51.9%, Seoul at 50.6%, Daejeon·Sejong·Chungcheong at 50.4%, Gangwon·Jeju at 46.9%, Daegu·Gyeongbuk at 45.9%, Busan·Ulsan·Gyeongnam at 43.4%, and Gwangju·Jeolla at 43.4%.

Among supporters of the Democratic Party, 53.6% favored nationwide distribution, while 43.7% of People Power Party supporters supported it, outnumbering the 31.2% who opposed.

On the 12th, Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil and People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok agreed during a dinner meeting to strengthen support for small business owners and self-employed individuals and to provide disaster relief funds to all citizens. The People Power Party later clarified that if there are remaining funds after supporting small business owners and the self-employed, they intend to provide support to all citizens.

Although there are many hurdles regarding funding and prioritization, both party leaders share the recognition of the necessity to provide disaster relief funds to all citizens.

On the 13th, Leader Song stated on Facebook, "If we eliminate the 1.1 trillion KRW budget allocated for credit card cashback and adjust some items, securing funds should not be difficult. The timing of the disaster relief fund payment will be flexible depending on the quarantine situation." He added, "I hope People Power Party lawmakers respect and support Leader Lee Jun-seok's decision."

This survey was conducted by Asia Economy through Win-G Korea Consulting targeting voters aged 18 and older nationwide on the 10th and 11th, with 1,011 respondents and an overall response rate of 7.5%. The survey method was 100% mobile ARS using virtual phone numbers. The sample was extracted with weighting by gender, age, and region based on the resident registration population as of the end of January 2021 by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (cell weighting). The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For detailed survey information, please 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.