Following the Constitutional Court’s ruling to remove former President Yoon Suk-yeol from office, a new poll showed that seven out of 10 respondents believe Yoon should refrain from engaging in the upcoming election campaign. However, nearly 45% said they would not accept the court’s decision.
The survey, conducted by polling agency Research View on Apr. 4 and released the next day, asked 1,000 adults across South Korea about their views in the aftermath of the landmark decision.
Among the respondents, 68.6% said Yoon should refrain from political activity, describing him as the “figure responsible for triggering a national crisis.” Meanwhile, 20.6% said he should speak out against what they saw as an unjust dismissal and take part in the election.
When asked whether they would accept the Constitutional Court’s decision, 52.2% said they would. However, 44.8% responded that they would not.
The survey also explored public opinion on the guiding spirit of the upcoming 21st presidential election, which will be held following Yoon’s impeachment. The largest share of respondents, 23.8%, said “addressing the misdeeds of the Yoon administration” should define the moment. That was followed by “co-governance and national unity” at 20.8%, “overcoming the economic crisis” at 18.6%, and “establishing rule of law” at 10.8%.
When asked about potential presidential candidates for the ruling People Power Party, Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo came out on top with 18.6% support.
He was followed by former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min with 14.4%, former party leader Han Dong-hoon with 10.3%, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo with 9.1%, lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo with 6.2%, and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon with 5.8%.
On the opposition side, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung dominated the field with 48.9%, far ahead of former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum at 8.1% and Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon at 7.5%.
The survey was conducted using an automated response system based on random digit dialing of mobile phone subscribers. The poll has a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 3.8%. Full details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.
