Two-thirds of Koreans oppose sending weapons to Ukraine, poll suggests

In an opinion poll commissioned by the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, and conducted by Gallup Korea, 64 percent of respondents said they were against supplying weapons to Ukraine.

A screengrab shows soldiers, believed to be North Koreans, receiving basic supplies at a Russian training base in a video provided by the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security, also known as Spravdi. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Two-thirds of Koreans oppose the idea of South Korea directly providing lethal weapons to Ukraine, according to a recent survey.

In an opinion poll commissioned by the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, and conducted by Gallup Korea, 64 percent of respondents said they were against supplying weapons to Ukraine, while 28 percent said they were in favor. Another 8 percent said they did not know or declined to respond.

The poll was conducted ahead of President Yoon Suk Yeol reaching the halfway point of his five-year term on Sunday.

The opinion poll, conducted from Thursday to Friday, surveyed 1,011 individuals aged 18 and older. It has a confidence interval of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

More than half of respondents in every region opposed supplying weapons to Ukraine.

In South Gyeongsang, including Busan and Ulsan, 57 percent were against the idea, the lowest level of opposition by region. In North Gyeongsang, which includes Daegu and is known to be largely conservative, 63 percent opposed providing weapons.

The survey follows Yoon's suggestion that South Korea could “flexibly review” the provision of lethal aid “depending on North Korea’s military activities,” despite the country's general policy of not directly supplying lethal weapons, as he said on Oct. 24.

By age, more than half of the respondents in each group, except those in their 20s, opposed sending weapons. Among individuals aged 18 to 29, 46 percent supported the idea, while 44 percent were against it. Among respondents aged 70 and older — a demographic typically supportive of the president — 55 percent opposed supplying weapons, while 34 percent were in favor.

By political alignment, 50 percent of conservatives were opposed, while 43 percent agreed. Among liberals, 81 percent opposed the weaponry provision, as did 64 percent of moderates.

Of those who supported providing weaponry, 53 percent believed that weapons should be supplied regardless of whether they were offensive or defensive.

People pass by a medical school in downtown Seoul on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Additionally, the survey covered a separate issue regarding a proposal to revisit discussions on increasing the medical school enrollment quota from 2026.

On this issue, 48 percent of respondents were in favor, 39 percent were opposed and 13 percent were uncertain or chose not to respond.

Among supporters of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), 64 percent agreed with the proposal, and 39 percent of supporters of the liberal Democratic Party (DP) were in favor. By region, respondents in most areas, excluding Chungcheong and Jeju, showed more support for the proposal.

The survey also asked respondents to evaluate Yoon’s performance over the past two and a half years.

When asked about Yoon’s achievements, seven out of ten respondents either cited no specific achievements, said they did not know or refused to respond.

Of the responses given, 6 percent credited Yoon’s diplomatic activities and policies, the highest percentage recorded for any area.

When asked about Yoon’s shortcomings, the most common response, at 19 percent, cited issues involving first lady Kim Keon Hee. The medical school quota hike followed at 7 percent, while 5 percent responded that Yoon’s overall performance was inadequate.

Priorities for the remainder of Yoons' term [NAM JUNG-HYUN]

As for priorities for the remainder of Yoon’s term, respondents highlighted several key areas: economic recovery and revitalization, at 21 percent, addressing livelihood issues and stabilizing inflation at 16 percent, strengthening national defense and security, at 5 percent, resolving the medical crisis, at 5 percent and addressing issues involving the first lady, at 5 percent.

In terms of Kim’s role as first lady, her disapproval rating reached 84 percent, with 62 percent rating her performance as “strongly unfavorable” and 22 percent as “somewhat unfavorable.” Her approval rating stood at only 11 percent.

According to Gallup Korea, the high disapproval rating for Kim may reflect public concerns over her perceived influence, particularly following the release of a recorded phone conversation between self-proclaimed “political broker” Myung Tae-kyun and the president.

“The presidential office’s response to the phone recording further fueled the controversy, contributing to the rise in her disapproval rating,” the polling company noted.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and first lady Kim Keon Hee arrive at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Oct. 6. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

Last week, the DP released a recording of a conversation between Yoon and Myung, alleging that the president and first lady had illegally influenced the PPP’s candidate nominations in the 2022 local elections.

The presidential office issued a statement denying that Yoon had been briefed on or given orders regarding nominations.

BY KIM JEONG-JAE, OH HYUN-SEOK, CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]