Date

March 13, 2014

Page

1

Contact

Ms. Kahye Oh

Office

02-3701-7377

E-mail

communications@asaninst.org

* For Immediate Release

Asan Public Opinion Survey:

South Korean Views on Current/Future Economy and Security

From March 10-12, 2014 the Asan Institute for Policy Studies conducted a public opinion survey on the importance of various countries to both the current and future economy and security of Korea.

A clear plurality (47.7%) cites China as the most important country for Korea’s current economy compared to 34.2% for the United States. Those in their 20s (33.8%) and those in their 60s and older (35.6%) were least likely to cite China. A majority of those in their 20s (53.1%) cited the United States. Self-identified conservatives (54.5%) were more likely than progressives (47.6%) to cite China as more important to Korea’s current economy. This is an unusual finding considering conservatives are traditionally more favorable toward the United States.

For Korea’s future economy, 57.9% cited China as more important compared to 21.3% for the United States. A majority of all age cohorts cited China, except for those 60 or older. While 38.6% of this cohort cited China, and 25.1% cited the United States, 31.4% did not know.

A majority (56.6%) cited the United States as being more important for Korea’s current security versus 15.5% that cited China. A majority of all age cohorts cited the United States as did a majority of self-identified conservatives (55.4%) and progressives (61.6%). Once again, this was an unusual finding considering conservatives are generally more favorable toward the United States. (9.2% of all respondents cited North Korea.)

In terms of future security, a clear plurality (46.9%) cited the United States versus 26.0% for China. Those in their 20s were the only age cohort in which a majority cited the United States. Those in their 30s (36.6%) and 40s (34.6%) were the most likely to cite China. A slim majority of both progressives (51.1%) and conservatives (51.8%) cited the United States. (8.3% of all respondents cited North Korea.)

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.