More than half of South Koreans are in favor of raising taxes for high income earners to mitigate the polarization that has deepened during the pandemic, a poll showed Sunday.

In the survey of 1,000 South Koreans aged 18 or older conducted last week, 57.4 percent of respondents agreed to a tax hike on high earners in the face of a widening income gap, while 39.3 percent disagreed, according to Realmeter.

Nearly 83 percent of the respondents said the polarization has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing a rise in asset prices, such as housing, decline in income of self-employed workers and fewer job openings.

Asked on the most urgent task to resolve the polarization, stabilizing the housing market topped the list with 26.5 percent, followed by fueling domestic demand through nationwide support with 24.5 percent and vitalizing companies' investment with 15.2 percent. Selective support for the most damaged groups came in next with 14 percent.

The poll was commissioned by the office of National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug and local cable news channel YTN. It had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points with a 95 percent confidence level. (Yonhap)