7 out of 10 People Say "Itaewon Disaster, Government and Local Authorities Are Responsible"

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min Should Resign 54.7%
President Yoon's Approval Rating 31.9%

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] A survey found that 7 out of 10 citizens believe that the government and local governments are responsible for the Itaewon tragedy.

According to a public opinion poll released on the 4th by Media Tomato (conducted by wireless ARS from March 31 to April 2 on 1,072 adults aged 18 and over nationwide, commissioned by News Tomato), 73.1% of respondents (53.0% saying "very responsible," 20.1% saying "somewhat responsible") answered that the government and local governments are responsible. Those who answered that there is no responsibility accounted for 23.3% (18.6% "somewhat not responsible," 4.7% "not responsible at all").

Regarding the responsibility of the government and local governments, there was a strong public opinion across generations and regions that the government bears significant responsibility. However, among respondents who identified their supporting party as the People Power Party, 42.9% said the government and local governments are responsible, while 50.3% said they are not responsible.

Regarding the controversy sparked by Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min’s statement that "this was not a problem that could have been solved by pre-deploying police and fire personnel," 56.8% responded that he should "take responsibility and resign." Meanwhile, 24.0% believed the matter should be settled with an apology, and 16.7% said there is no need to apologize or resign.

Concerning the intensified confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties, such as the Democratic Party’s absence from President Yoon Seok-yeol’s budget address, 54.8% believed President Yoon bears more responsibility, while 39.5% thought the Democratic Party is more responsible.

Regarding President Yoon’s state governance, positive opinions accounted for 31.9% (11.8% "doing very well," 20.1% "generally doing well"), and negative opinions accounted for 64.7% (55.3% "doing very poorly," 9.5% "generally doing poorly"). Positive opinions decreased by 0.2 percentage points, and negative opinions decreased by 0.6 percentage points.

For detailed survey methodology and results, please refer to the website of the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission.

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