[AKyeong Poll] 53.7% Say Forcing Prime Minister and Minister Appointments Was 'Inappropriate'

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Public opinion was cold regarding the government and ruling party's forcible appointment of Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, Minister of Science and ICT Im Hye-sook, and Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Noh Hyung-wook. More than half of the survey respondents said that this appointment without consensus was inappropriate.

Asia Economy commissioned Win-G Korea Consulting to conduct a public opinion survey from the 15th to 16th targeting 1,019 voters aged 18 and older nationwide (100% mobile phone virtual numbers, automated response), which produced these results.

Regarding President Moon Jae-in's forcible appointment of Prime Minister Kim, Minister Im, and Minister Noh on the 14th despite opposition from the opposition party, 53.7% of respondents answered that "the appointment without bipartisan agreement is inappropriate." The percentage of respondents who said "it is not a problem because it is the exercise of the president's inherent personnel authority" was only 38.4%. The percentage who answered "I don't know" was 7.9%.

Prime Minister nominee Kim Boo-kyum attended the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 7th and is reviewing the documents. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Among those who gave a positive evaluation of President Moon's administration, 86.9% supported this appointment, whereas 84.8% of those who gave a negative evaluation opposed it. By region, except for Honam, the proportion who said this appointment was inappropriate was high in all regions. By generation, those in their 30s and 40s showed a high approval rate for this appointment, but opposition was strong in all other age groups.

▲ How the survey was conducted

This survey was conducted nationwide among voters aged 18 and older from the 15th to 16th, with an overall response rate of 8.0%, totaling 1,019 respondents. The survey method was wireless ARS using 100% mobile phone virtual numbers. The sample was extracted using weighted values (cell weighting) by gender, age, and region based on the resident registration population as of the end of January 2021 from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The sampling error is ±3.1 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.