Results of a poll released Wednesday showed that 49.1 percent of respondents believe the prosecution’s ongoing investigation into Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s family is excessive, while 42.7 percent called it adequate.

The gap of 6.4 percentage points was within the margin of error, according to Realmeter, which conducted the survey of 501 adults on Tuesday.

The remaining 8.2 percent declined to answer or said they did not know.

The poll, conducted at the request of online news website OhmyNews, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points and a confidence level of 95 percent.

The percentage of those who said the probe was excessive was higher in Gwangju and the North and South Jeolla provinces (66.6 percent), Gyeonggi Province and Incheon (53 percent) and Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province (47.8 percent), as well as among those in their 40s (61.3 percent), 50s (52.3 percent) and 30s (51.6 percent), and among progressives (69.8 percent) and supporters of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (81.2 percent).

Positive views of the investigation were predominant in Daejeon, Sejong and North and South Chungcheong provinces (59.4 percent) and Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province (55.6 percent), as well as among those in their 60s and above (49.6 percent), conservatives (63.2 percent), centrists (51.5 percent), supporters of the Liberty Korea Party (75.5 percent) and independents (54.7 percent).

Among respondents in their 20s, 40.5 percent said it was excessive while 42.7 percent said it was adequate.

The Democratic Party said Wednesday that it will run a fact-checking team to go through various suspicions raised in the investigation into Cho’s family.

A team consisting of the Democratic Party’s floor spokesperson and public relations officials that had refuted allegations raised by opposition parties during Cho’s confirmation hearing will resume its work.

The team will fact-check every time a new allegation is made through news reports, and explain to the public complicated issues such as the Cho family’s investment in a private equity fund.

“As the probe wears on, various suspicions, which aren’t facts, are pouring out from the prosecution (through news reports) … The public can be swayed by incorrect information,” Rep. Kim Jong-min of the Democratic Party told the Yonhap News Agency.

The Democratic Party also plans to be more proactive on YouTube, which is widely perceived to be predominated by conservatives here.

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