Over Half of Citizens Say "Gadeokdo Special Law Is Wrong"... 54% Negative in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam Too

Gadeokdo, Gangseo-gu, Busan, where the construction of a new airport is being promoted. Below is Busan New Port. The photo was taken on the 4th of last month. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] A public opinion poll released on the 1st showed that more than half of the nation's population evaluates the passage of the 'Gadeokdo New Airport Special Act' through the National Assembly plenary session as a 'wrong decision.'

According to a survey conducted by Realmeter on behalf of YTN on the 26th of last month targeting 500 men and women nationwide aged 18 and older, 53.6% of respondents answered 'wrong decision' to the question, "The special law exempting economic feasibility evaluation to expedite the construction of the Busan Gadeokdo New Airport was passed in the National Assembly. Is this a good or bad decision?"

The response of 'good decision' was 33.9%, while 12.6% said 'don't know.'

By region, the areas with a higher percentage of 'good decision' responses were Gwangju-Jeolla (52%), Gangwon (51%), and Jeju (67.2%).

Even in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam, the beneficiary regions of the new airport, only 38.5% responded 'good decision.' The answer 'wrong decision' was higher at 54.0%.

In the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region, 73.4% responded 'wrong decision,' which was 61.2 percentage points higher than the 12.2% who said 'good decision.'

By ideological inclination, 73.6% of conservatives evaluated it as a 'wrong decision,' while 50.6% of progressives responded that it was a 'good decision.'

This survey applied weighting (rim weighting) by gender, age group, and region based on the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's resident registration population statistics as of the end of October last year, and was conducted via wireless (80%) and wired (20%) automated response system (ARS). The sampling error is ±4.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

For more details, refer to the Realmeter website or the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission.