Yoon Administration's 'Forced Mobilization Solution' Faces 60% Negative Public Opinion... Will 'Korea-Japan Economic Cooperation' Lose Momentum?

Only 35% Support Government Compensation Plan... 59% Oppose
Third-Party Compensation... 64% Say "Not Compensation"
Government Alert Ahead of Summit in Six Days with First Results

A public opinion survey revealed strong opposition to the government's proposed solution for compensation of forced labor victims. This is the first public reaction to the government's chosen 'third-party payment method' to implement the judiciary's ruling. Although the Presidential Office expressed a general stance of listening to the voices of the people, there are analyses suggesting that the Yoon administration's new approach to improving Korea-Japan relations, emphasizing 'national interest' and 'future' just six days before the Korea-Japan summit, may lose momentum.

According to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea on the 8th and 9th among 1,002 voters nationwide regarding the government's 'third-party payment method,' 35% supported it for the sake of Korea-Japan relations and national interest, while 59% opposed it due to the lack of apology and compensation from Japan. Support for the third-party payment was prominent among those with a positive evaluation of the president's job performance (78%) and supporters of the People Power Party (67%), but opposition was dominant among most respondents except for ruling party supporters.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, when asked whether they would consider it compensation if Japanese perpetrator companies donated funds to youth and future generation support organizations instead of directly compensating forced labor victims, only 27% answered 'yes.' Sixty-four percent responded 'no.' Even among those with a positive evaluation of the president's job performance (52%) and People Power Party supporters (47%), support did not exceed 60% for this question.

The Presidential Office stated that it "will not issue individual responses" to this survey result but is closely monitoring public opinion through the media. While promoting the logic that the choice was made to allow Korea-Japan relations to move forward toward the future without being bound by past history, there is considerable opposition to compensation that does not involve the participation of war crime companies.

Both governments are likely to discuss not only economic cooperation measures such as Japan's exports to Korea but also the normalization of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) during this summit. Moreover, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and Japan's Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) are coordinating the establishment of a 'Future Youth Fund' (tentative name) aimed at supporting international students.

However, within the government, there are opinions that the first public opinion survey result, coming just six days before the Korea-Japan summit, could negatively affect economic cooperation plans between the two countries. A government official said, "Since channels for economic cooperation have begun to be established, there may be a need to adjust the pace."

There is also a forecast that the Korea-Japan summit next week will mainly carry the significance of 'restoring shuttle diplomacy after 12 years.' This interpretation suggests that the scope of disclosure and timing of detailed economic cooperation plans may be reduced or postponed, and the government will accelerate efforts to persuade the victims.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK also reported that within the Japanese government, there is an opinion about inviting Korea to the upcoming G7 Hiroshima summit in May, and that the Japanese government plans to make a final decision while observing whether the solution to the forced labor issue will be implemented in Korea.

Meanwhile, Gallup Korea's survey was conducted via telephone interviews with randomly selected samples from a wireless phone RDD sample frame. The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Detailed survey methodology and results can be found on the Gallup Korea website or the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

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