Support for Korean Unification Falls Below 40% in New Survey
A nationwide survey found that 39% of South Koreans consider unification necessary, with support markedly lower among respondents in their 20s and 30s as distrust of North Korea also increased.
Fewer than four in 10 South Koreans now consider unification with North Korea necessary, according to a new nationwide survey that also found especially weak support among younger adults and growing distrust of Pyongyang.
The poll, commissioned by Seoul National University’s Institute for Peace and Unification Studies, found that 39 percent of respondents viewed unification as necessary. That was down from 41.1 percent in the previous year. The share saying unification is not necessary rose to 32.2 percent from 30.4 percent.
The longer-term shift was more pronounced. When the institute first conducted the survey in 2007, 15.1 percent of respondents said unification was unnecessary. The latest figure is more than twice that level, showing how public attitudes have changed over nearly two decades.
The generational divide was particularly clear. Among respondents in their 20s, 25.2 percent said unification was necessary, compared with 44.8 percent who said it was not. For those in their 30s, 27 percent considered unification necessary, while 47 percent disagreed.
The survey also indicated increasing skepticism about whether the two Koreas can ultimately reunify. A record 39.1 percent said unification was impossible, while 31.5 percent preferred maintaining the current division of the peninsula, also the highest share recorded in the survey series.
Views of the North Korean government hardened as well. The proportion saying dialogue and compromise with the North Korean regime were impossible climbed to 78.3 percent from 66.5 percent a year earlier. A record 83.3 percent said they believed the North Korean regime did not want unification, and 90.4 percent said they did not expect North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons.
Against that backdrop, support for South Korea developing its own nuclear weapons rose sharply. The poll found that 61.1 percent backed independent nuclear armament, up from 51.8 percent in the previous year. The institute cautioned, however, that the result should not be read as reflecting the possible costs or diplomatic pressure that such a step could bring.
Gallup Korea conducted the survey among 1,200 adults from July 1 through July 26. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.