South Koreans on balance support Kim Jong-un giving a speech at the National Assembly during his envisioned trip to the South, according to a recent survey.

In a poll of 503 adults across the country, 46.7 percent of the respondents said they agreed to having Kim speak at the parliament, while 40.2 percent said they were against it. 


 

The survey, conducted by Realmeater and commissioned by CBS, had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points, with a 95 percent confidence level.

Over 70 percent of the respondents who identified themselves as progressive supported the idea, while nearly 70 percent of those who considered themselves a conservative opposed it. Among the moderates, 47.2 percent were for, and 40.4 percent was against it.

More people were in favor of the North Korean leader’s speech among supporters of the Democratic Party (69.9 percent) and the minor Justice Party (68.3 percent).

More people were against it among supporters of the Liberty Korea Party (66.6 percent) and the Bareunmirae Party (48 percent).

By age group, more than half in their 30s and 40s were in favor of Kim giving a speech, while among people in their 60s, opponents of the idea greatly outnumbered those infavor. Those in their 50s were almost evenly divided.

By region, a majority was supportive of the idea in the Gwangju-Jeolla area, Seoul and Gyeonggi-Incheon. A majority was against it in Daegu-North Gyeongsang. Poll results were roughly even in Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang and Daejeon-Sejong-Chungcheong.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)