President Yoon Suk Yeol's sudden declaration and subsequent lifting of martial law have thrown South Korea's political landscape into chaos.
Amid this turmoil, a public opinion poll released on December 5 revealed that 7 out of 10 South Koreans support impeaching the president. The impeachment motion, proposed by the opposition party, is expected to be voted on between December 6 and 7.
According to a poll conducted by Realmeter for Energy Economy News on December 4, involving 504 adults nationwide, 73.6% of respondents supported the impeachment of President Yoon, with 65.8% strongly in favor and 7.7% somewhat in favor. Meanwhile, 24% opposed impeachment, and 2.4% withheld opinion.
The Gangwon region led with 86.9% in favor, followed by Gwangju/Jeolla (79.3%), Incheon/Gyeonggi (77.3%), Daejeon/Chungcheong/Sejong (74%), Busan/Ulsan/Gyeongnam (72.9%), and Seoul (68.9%). Daegu/Gyeongbuk also showed a majority at 66.2%. However, in Jeju, 56.8% opposed impeachment, bucking the national trend.
Support was highest among those aged 18-29 (86.8%), followed by those in their 40s (85.3%), 50s (76.4%), 30s (72.3%), 60s (62.1%), and 70+ (56.8%).
Students were most supportive (93.5%), followed by office/professional workers (81.9%), service/production workers (79.3%), and self-employed individuals (75%).
Among progressives, 94.6% supported impeachment. The centrist group also showed strong backing at 71.8%, while conservatives were evenly split (50.4% in favor, 48% opposed).
Among respondents with a negative view of Yoon's performance, 92.2% supported impeachment. In contrast, 88.6% of those with a positive view opposed it.
In addition, 69.5% of respondents believed Yoon's actions during the martial law declaration constituted treason. However, 24.9% disagreed, and 5.7% remained undecided. Regional and demographic trends in responses largely mirrored those for impeachment support.
The survey was conducted through random dialing via mobile (97%) and landline (3%) with an automated response system. It had a response rate of 4.8%, with a sample error of ±4.4% at a 95% confidence level.
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