Impeachment Verdict on the 4th: Yoon, 'Should Be Removed' 57% vs 'Return to Duty' 35% [PollPoll News]

NBS Public Opinion Survey
Sharp Decline in Trust in the Constitutional Court, Only 46% Express Confidence

A public opinion survey revealed that 57% of respondents believe that President Yoon Seok-yeol should be impeached and removed from office in the ongoing impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court. Trust in the Constitutional Court has significantly declined.

President Yoon Seok-yeol, who was released on the 8th of last month, is seen getting out of a security vehicle in front of the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do, greeting supporters as he leaves the detention center. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the National Barometer Survey (NBS) conducted from March 31 to April 2 by Embrain Public, K-stat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research (surveyed 1,001 men and women aged 18 and over nationwide via mobile phone interviews; margin of error ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level; response rate 22.4%), public opinion favoring the removal of President Yoon through impeachment dropped by 1 percentage point from the previous week to 57%. The proportion of those who believe the impeachment should be dismissed and the president should return to duty also fell by 2 percentage points to 35%. The percentage of respondents who answered "don't know" or did not respond increased by 3 percentage points to 9%.

Opinions varied according to political orientation and party support. Among those who supported the Democratic Party and the Joguk Innovation Party, 97% and 95% respectively said impeachment should be upheld. Among supporters of the People Power Party, 89% favored dismissal of the impeachment. Among progressives and centrists, 89% and 65% respectively supported impeachment. However, 67% of conservatives expressed the opinion that the impeachment should be dismissed.

When asked about their outlook regardless of personal political views, 55% of respondents predicted that impeachment would be upheld, an increase of 4 percentage points from the previous week. The forecast for dismissal of impeachment decreased by 5 percentage points to 34%.

Trust in the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial has sharply declined. When asked about trust in the court's impeachment process, 46% of respondents said they trust it. This is a significant drop from 60% in the third week of March and 53% in the fourth week of March. The percentage of those who do not trust the court rose from 36% to 40%, and then to 46% this week.

Regarding suitability for the next president, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, ranked first with 33%. Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor, received 9%, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon 4%, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo 4%, and former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon 4%.

In terms of party support, the Democratic Party stood at 37%, the People Power Party at 33%, Joguk Innovation Party at 6%, Reform New Party at 2%, and Progressive Party at 1%.

For more details, please refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.