Over 70% of South Koreans support promoting human rights in North Korea

2024-06-07 00:53:16      点击：546

People bow to portraits of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, in this November 2021 file image. More than 70 percent of South Koreans said they are in support of promoting North Korea's human rights issues, according to a poll released Thursday. Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

More than 70 percent of South Koreans said they are in support of promoting North Korea's human rights issues, according to a poll released Thursday.

A survey, conducted by the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council between March 24 and 28, shows that 70.5 percent of the respondents said they support their government's efforts to improve the human rights situation in North Korea by conducting studies and cooperating more closely with other countries.

Only 28.5 percent said they do not support such efforts, while 1 percent refused to respond.

Notably, the support rate among those who identify themselves as politically liberal was 77 percent, which was higher compared to their conservative and moderate counterparts, at 69.3 percent and 68.8 percent, respectively.

This particular result refutes the traditional assumption that liberal voters would support a more conciliatory, no-shaming approach to Pyongyang ― a stance backed by liberal parties.

"The result goes against the expectations that liberal voters would not support the policy of promoting North Korea's human rights issues," an official at the presidential body said. "Our citizens generally share the view that awareness should be raised regardless of their political views."

Promoting the issue on the world stage has been one of the key North Korea policies under President Yoon Suk Yeol. His government co-sponsored a U.N. General Assembly resolution on its human rights abuses for the first time in four years last December; it also allowed the public access to Seoul's annual report on North Korea's rights situation for the first time this March.

Despite growing security threats from the regime, 47.8 percent of the respondents said they view North Korea as a potential counterpart that their government should help and work with. The rate was the highest since the quarterly poll for second quarter of 2018 when 48.4 percent responded so.

While 37.1 percent said they view North Korea as a hostile entity, 12.6 percent said they had little or no interest in the country.

Nevertheless, a majority of the respondents are pessimistic about the prospects of inter-Korean relations, with 79.1 percent saying they think it will remain unchanged or become worse.

Asked whether stronger security ties between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo would be effective in preventing North Korea's provocations, 46.2 percent said they think so.

While 35 percent said a stronger partnership would make the situation worse on the Korean Peninsula, 16.1 percent said it would not affect the regime's behavior.