8 out of 10 Koreans Say "Chairman Lee Kun-hee's Social Contributions Are Significant"... Half Respond That His Mistakes Are Large

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] More than 8 out of 10 people evaluate the contributions of Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee as significant, while about 5 out of 10 also assess his faults as considerable.

According to a survey conducted by Realmeter on the 25th at the request of 'OhmyNews' regarding perceptions of Chairman Lee's contributions and faults, it was revealed on the 29th that 84.3% responded that his contributions to Korean society were significant, while 11.5% said they were not significant.

Regarding his faults, 49.2% responded that they were significant, while 43.2% said they were not significant, showing a close split.

By region, the majority in all areas responded that Chairman Lee's contributions to Korean society were significant. In particular, about 9 out of 10 residents in Seoul, or 90.7%, responded that his contributions were significant. This was followed by Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (significant contributions 87.4% vs. not significant 8.9%), Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong (85.2% vs. 12.8%), Incheon and Gyeonggi (83.1% vs. 11.9%), Daegu and Gyeongbuk (81.4% vs. 13.4%), and Gwangju and Jeolla (79.6% vs. 14.8%) in descending order of positive evaluation.

Regarding faults in Korean society, regional differences were observed. In Incheon and Gyeonggi (significant faults 51.3% vs. not significant 38.8%) and Gwangju and Jeolla (55.2% vs. 35.1%), responses indicating significant faults outnumbered those indicating otherwise. Conversely, in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, 40.1% said faults were significant, while 55.0% said they were not, showing contrasting results. In Seoul (48.7% vs. 45.2%), Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (47.8% vs. 50.1%), and Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong (46.7% vs. 43.1%), positive and negative evaluations of faults were closely balanced.

By age group, positive evaluations of contributions were also high, especially among those in their 20s (significant contributions 86.5% vs. not significant 6.1%), 60s (88.6% vs. 6.0%), and 70 and older (89.4% vs. 8.0%), where the proportion of positive responses indicating significant contributions was relatively high. However, among those aged 70 and older, about half (50.4%) also responded that faults were significant, indicating that both contributions and faults were evaluated as significant.

By ideological inclination, conservatives, moderates, and progressives all showed a majority responding that contributions were significant. In particular, about 9 out of 10 conservatives and moderates responded that contributions were significant, showing a high rate. However, regarding faults, 67.4% of progressives responded that faults were significant, while 60.5% of conservatives responded that faults were not significant, showing contrasting results. Moderates showed a close split in positive and negative evaluations of faults.

This survey contacted 17,168 adults aged 18 and over nationwide, with a final 1,000 respondents completing the survey, recording a response rate of 5.8%. The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.