"Gimpo and Other Areas Annexed to Seoul, Opposition Stronger Among People in Their 20s and Progressives"

Opposition Majority in Most Areas... Seoul 60.6%
National Survey Also Shows 31.5% Support, 58.6% Opposition

A survey revealed that 6 out of 10 people oppose the ruling party-led plan to incorporate some areas of the Seoul metropolitan area, including Gimpo, into Seoul.

On the 1st, a People Power Party banner with the message "Gyeonggi Bukdo in Gimpo City is bad, Seoul Special City is good" was hung at an intersection in Pungmu-dong, Gimpo City, Gyeonggi Province.
[Photo by Kwak Minjae]

According to a survey conducted by Realmeter, a public opinion research firm, on behalf of Energy Economy Newspaper on the 1st, targeting 503 men and women nationwide aged 18 and older, 58.6% responded that they 'oppose' incorporating small and medium-sized cities near Seoul, such as Gimpo, into Seoul. This was followed by ▲'support' (31.5%) ▲'don't know' (10.0%).

Opposition was more prominent than support in most regions. In particular, in the key interest areas of Incheon, Gyeonggi, and Seoul, opposition stood at 65.8% and 60.6%, respectively, dominating the opinion. Support was 23.7% and 32.6%, respectively, which was lower.

Additionally, opposition was higher than support in Daejeon, Chungcheong, and Sejong (67.5% vs. 25.5%), Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (52.9% vs. 41.1%), and Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk (45.3% vs. 34.5%).

On the other hand, in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, opposition and support were similar at 45.7% and 44.3%, respectively.

By age group, opposition exceeded the majority in all age groups except those aged 70 and over. The 'oppose' response was highest among 18-29-year-olds (74.5%), followed by those in their 30s (66.5%), 40s (64.2%), 50s (60.1%), and 60s (50.7%).

Among those aged 70 and over, support and opposition were 49.9% and 32.8%, respectively.

By ideological inclination, opposition among centrists and progressives was 66.5% and 74.7%, respectively, exceeding support. Conversely, conservatives showed contrasting results with support and opposition at 54.1% and 39.8%, respectively.

When asked about the most appropriate entity to promote the policy, 'Gyeonggi Province or Seoul City' received the highest response rate at 33.6%.

This was followed by 'basic local governments near Seoul such as Gimpo' (20.2%), 'central government' (13.2%), and 'National Assembly or political circles' (12.6%). 'Others or don't know' accounted for 20.4%.

Regarding the background of the policy promotion, 58.8% responded that it was 'due to political interests.' The response rate for 'due to the needs of local residents' was 27.3%, and 'don't know' was 13.9%.

This survey was conducted on the 1st, targeting 503 men and women nationwide aged 18 and older, with a response rate of 2.8% (two callbacks were made to non-respondents after confirming the sample to improve response rate).

The survey used a wireless (96%) and wired (4%) automated response method, with random digit dialing (RDD) through a randomly generated sampling frame, and the sampling error was ±4.4 percentage points (p) at a 95% confidence level.

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