Rival parties' poll numbers fluctuate, but support for Yoon's impeachment remains consistently high
As the Constitutional Court prepares to rule on the fate of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, a survey shows a majority of South Koreans support his removal from office, though party support remains nearly evenly split.
The court is expected to decide in the coming days whether to uphold Yoon’s impeachment over his botched attempt to impose martial law on Dec. 3.
According to a Gallup Korea poll conducted March 4-6 on and released Friday, 60 percent of the 1,003 eligible voters aged 18 and over surveyed nationwide said they supported Yoon’s impeachment, while 35 percent opposed it.
Support for his impeachment increased by one percentage point while opposition remained unchanged from a previous survey conducted Feb. 25-27.
By political preference, 29 percent of conservatives supported Yoon's impeachment, while 69 percent opposed it. Among those who identified as progressives, 92 percent backed his impeachment while 6 percent were against it. Among those who considered themselves to be moderates, 71 percent supported his impeachment while 22 percent opposed it.
Despite the strong support for the court to uphold Yoon's impeachment, party preference remains closely contested.
In the same Gallup Korea poll, 40 percent supported the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, while 36 percent of respondents backed the ruling People Power Party Support for the ruling party remained unchanged from the previous survey, although support for the main opposition party rose two percentage points.
A separate survey conducted March 5-7 by Realmeter, commissioned by Energy Economic News and released on Sunday, showed the ruling party with 42.7 percent support and the Democratic Party with 41 percent. This latter poll was also conducted on eligible voters aged 18 and older nationwide.
Yoon was abruptly released from detention on Saturday after being arrested Jan. 15 for his failed attempt to declare military rule on the country, which plunged the nation into political turmoil. He was suspended from office after the National Assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14.
shinjh@heraldcorp.com
