[AKYUNG Poll] Over Half of the People Say "Yoon's Suspension from Duty is Inappropriate"

More 'Inappropriate Measures' Responses Than 'Appropriate Measures' Across All Age Groups Except 40s
'Inappropriate Measures' Responses Predominate in All Regions Except Honam Area
73.1% of Democratic Party Supporters Say 'Appropriate Measures' vs 90.0% of People Power Party Supporters Say 'Inappropriate Measures'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] More than half of the public evaluated the action taken by Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae to suspend Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's duties and request disciplinary action as inappropriate.

According to a public opinion survey conducted by Asia Economy through Win-G Korea Consulting on the 28th and 29th of last month targeting 1,000 people nationwide aged 18 and older (100% mobile phone virtual numbers, automated response), 52.2% of respondents said that Minister Choo's action was "inappropriate." Only 36.5% responded that it was an "appropriate action." Those who answered "don't know" accounted for 11.3%.

By age group, except for those in their 40s, all other age groups had more responses saying the action was "inappropriate" than "appropriate." Specifically, the highest percentage of "inappropriate" responses was among those in their 50s at 65.2%, followed by those aged 70 and above (57.2%) and those in their 50s (56.3%), with more than half responding as inappropriate. In their 30s, 48.4% said inappropriate, nearly half, and in their 20s (ages 18-29), 43.7% responded as inappropriate, higher than the 31.7% who said appropriate. However, in the 40s age group, the responses were almost evenly split with 45.2% saying "appropriate" and 45.4% saying "inappropriate."

By region, responses indicating "inappropriate" were dominant in Daejeon, Sejong, Chungcheong (58.6%), Daegu, Gyeongbuk (58.0%), Seoul (56.6%), Gangwon, Jeju (56.2%), Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam (56.0%), and Incheon, Gyeonggi (49.4%). In contrast, in Gwangju and Jeolla, 54.4% responded that it was an "appropriate action," showing a contrasting trend.

By political party support, 73.1% of supporters of the Democratic Party of Korea responded that it was an "appropriate action," whereas 90.0% of supporters of the People Power Party said it was "inappropriate," showing a clear difference in stance between the two party supporters. Similarly, 68.1% of supporters of President Moon Jae-in responded that it was appropriate, while 88.6% of non-supporters responded that it was inappropriate, showing a similar pattern.

Earlier, on the 24th of last month, Minister Choo requested disciplinary action against Prosecutor General Yoon and excluded him from his duties. The grounds cited included inappropriate contact with media company owners and illegal surveillance of trial courts handling major cases such as the former Minister Cho Kuk case. In response, Prosecutor General Yoon filed an injunction with the court to suspend the effect of the suspension order, and the Administrative Court of Seoul, Administrative Division 4 (Presiding Judge Cho Mi-yeon) is currently hearing the case. The decision is expected as early as the 1st.

This survey was conducted on voters aged 18 and older nationwide on the 28th and 29th of last month, with an overall response rate of 11.4%, totaling 1,000 respondents. The survey method was wireless ARS using 100% mobile phone virtual numbers. The sample was extracted with weighting values (cell weighting) by gender, age, and region based on the resident registration population as of the end of October 2020 from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The sampling error is ±3.09 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For detailed survey information, refer to the Win-G Korea Consulting website or the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.