Yoon Impeachment, 58% Support vs 36% Opposition... Lee Jae-myung Tops Next Presidential Candidate Poll [Polpol News]

Gallup Poll Shows Broad Consensus
on Raising Mandatory Retirement Age to 65

A public opinion poll revealed that 58% of respondents support the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol. There was also broad consensus on raising the mandatory retirement age to 65.

According to a poll released on the 21st by Gallup (conducted nationwide from the 18th to the 20th among 1,003 people aged 18 and older via mobile phone interviews, with a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level and a response rate of 13.1%), views on impeachment showed little change from last week’s survey. The percentage opposing impeachment fell by 1 percentage point to 36%. Since mid-January, support for impeachment has consistently remained in the high 50% range, while opposition has stayed in the mid-30% range.

Yonhap News

By generation, support for impeachment was clearly dominant among those in their 20s to 50s, but among those in their 60s, opinions were nearly evenly split (support 49%, opposition 46%). For those aged 70 and above, support was 34%, while opposition was 59%, showing a difference from other age groups. Among centrist respondents, 64% expressed support for impeachment.

Regarding the nature of the next presidential election, 39% supported the ruling party candidate’s victory for regime continuation, while 51% favored the opposition candidate’s victory for regime change. Support for regime continuation fell by 2 percentage points, while support for regime change remained the same as last week.

As for the next presidential candidate, 36% of respondents chose Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. This was followed by Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor, at 9%. Former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon each received 4%, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo received 3%, and Lee Jun-seok, elected as the Reform New Party’s presidential candidate, received 1%. Party support rates were 40% for the Democratic Party and 36% for the People Power Party, unchanged from the previous week.

Regarding raising the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65, 79% of respondents expressed support. Support for extending the retirement age was strong regardless of region, generation, or political orientation. Those who responded that the current age of 60 should be maintained accounted for 16%. For more details on the poll, please refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.