Date

April 7, 2014

Page

1

Contact

Ms. Kahye Oh

Office

02-3701-7377

E-mail

communications@asaninst.org

* For Immediate Release

Asan Public Opinion Survey:

Prime Minister Abe viewed more favorably than Kim Jong-un

From April 1-3, 2014 the Asan Institute for Policy Studies conducted a public opinion survey on the favorability of countries in the region, perceptions of relations between countries, and the favorability of selected leaders.

In a reversal from March, Prime Minister Abe (1.3) was viewed more favorably than Kim Jong-un (1.1) on a zero to ten scale. While 57.8% cited “zero” favorability for Mr. Abe, 65.3% stated the same for Kim Jong-un. In February, Abe’s favorability was 1.1 while Kim’s was 1.3. In July 2013, the first time this question was asked, Mr. Abe (1.7) received significantly higher marks than Kim Jong-un (1.1).

Japan (2.5) was seen more favorably than North Korea (2.3) for the first time since January 2014. The United States (5.9) had the highest favorability rating on the zero to ten scale. China (4.8) was followed by Russia (3.8).

The Korea-U.S. relationship continues to be seen as highly cooperative, with 78.7% stating as such. This was a slight decrease from 82.23% in March, but an increase from a low of 74.4% in December 2013. As for the Korea-China relationship, it is increasingly seen as cooperative. While 51.1% saw it as cooperative in December 2013, 59.6% now see it in that manner.

The sample size of each survey was 1,000 people over the age of 19. The margin of error was ±3.1% at the 95% confidence level. The survey employed RDD for landline and mobile telephones.