7 out of 10 Citizens Say "Rent Reduction or Suspension Needed" for Self-Employed Affected by COVID-19 [Realmeter]

Private Autonomy 49.3% vs Mandatory Reduction 39.8%

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Seven out of ten Koreans agree that rent should be reduced or suspended for self-employed individuals who have suffered losses due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to a poll conducted by Realmeter on the 15th at the request of OhmyNews, 72.9% of respondents agreed with the claim that rent for self-employed businesses should be reduced or suspended (36.2% strongly agree, 36.8% somewhat agree), while 23.7% disagreed (12.8% strongly disagree, 11.0% somewhat disagree). Those who answered "don't know" accounted for 3.4%.

Support for rent reduction or suspension was dominant across all regions. In particular, 81.6% of respondents in Gwangju and Jeolla expressed agreement, showing a higher rate compared to other regions. This was followed by Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong (77.3% agree vs. 20.0% disagree), Incheon and Gyeonggi (73.4% vs. 21.9%), Seoul (72.5% vs. 26.3%), Daegu and Gyeongbuk (67.7% vs. 30.8%), and Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (67.2% vs. 27.0%). Agreement was ahead across all genders and age groups.

Support was also high across political party supporters, though differences appeared in detail. The percentage of those who agreed was 84.1% among supporters of the Democratic Party of Korea, 70.6% among non-affiliated voters, and 63.6% among supporters of the People Power Party. However, 33.0% of People Power Party supporters disagreed, a higher rate than the average.

Regarding the method of rent reduction or suspension, 49.3% favored "leaving it to private autonomy," which was higher than the 39.8% who supported "mandatory reduction." Those who answered "don't know" accounted for 10.9%.

By region, Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (private autonomy 59.3% vs. mandatory reduction 23.2%) and Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong (52.9% vs. 33.9%) showed over 50% support for "private autonomy." In contrast, Gwangju and Jeolla (36.6% vs. 50.0%) showed about half supporting "mandatory reduction." In Incheon and Gyeonggi (48.8% vs. 44.8%), Daegu and Gyeongbuk (47.9% vs. 41.7%), and Seoul (47.7% vs. 41.3%), opinions were closely divided.

By age group, those in their 40s (private autonomy 60.4% vs. mandatory reduction 31.5%), 30s (55.7% vs. 32.1%), and 50s (49.3% vs. 39%) mostly favored "private autonomy." Conversely, those aged 70 and above (30.1% vs. 52.1%) mostly supported "mandatory reduction." Those in their 60s (47.6% vs. 40.9%) and 20s (47.0% vs. 46.5%) showed nearly equal support for both options.

By political party support, 63.8% of People Power Party supporters and 53.7% of non-affiliated voters favored "leaving it to private autonomy." However, Democratic Party supporters were evenly split with 41.4% supporting private autonomy and 44.1% supporting mandatory reduction.

This survey contacted 6,489 voters aged 18 and over nationwide, with a final response of 500 people, recording a response rate of 7.7%. The sampling error is ±4.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more details, refer to the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.