The popularity of professional baseball in South Korea is in decline, especially among people in their 20s, the exact demographic that teams are trying to attract, a national poll showed.

Gallup Korea released results of its survey of 1,004 South Koreans aged 18 or older from March 15-17.

And only 31 percent of the polled said they had at least some interest in the Korea Baseball Organization, the lowest since 2013 and well off the record high of 48 percent in 2014.

Among different age brackets, those in the 20s had the lowest level of interest in pro baseball at 18 percent. The number sat above 40 percent in 2013 and around 30 percent from 2017 to 2019, before dropping into the mid-20 range in 2020. (Yonhap)