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Demonstrators chant “THAAD must go for peace to come” during a rally outside the community center in Soseong Village

72% of South Koreans have a positive view about President Moon Jae-in’s orders to temporarily deploy the THAAD missile defense system, a new poll found. Concerns about the possibility of war on the Korean Peninsula are higher now than they were after North Korea’s fourth nuclear test last year.

In a public opinion poll carried out by Gallup Korea from Aug. 1 to 3, 72% of respondents said that Moon had done the right thing when he gave orders for four THAAD launchers to be temporarily deployed soon after North Korea’s second launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Just 14% of respondents disagreed with the decision. Approval of the decision was lowest around Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, the area where THAAD is being deployed, with 63% in favor and 21% against. Among supporters of the Minjoo Party, 74% rated Moon’s decision highly.

In a Gallup poll carried out shortly after the US and South Korea officially announced their decision to deploy THAAD on the Korean Peninsula in July 2016, 50% of respondents supported the THAAD deployment and 32% were opposed. While the gap between the two positions narrowed to 51% for and 40% against after China cranked up its economic retaliation early this year, there has been overwhelming support for the THAAD deployment since North Korea’s second ICBM test launch. A poll carried out by Real Meter on Aug. 2, commissioned by TBS, a South Korean broadcaster, found that 71% were in favor of the temporary THAAD deployment and 18.4% were opposed.

When asked whether North Korea’s missile launch would make war on the Korean Peninsula more likely, 32% of respondents thought that it would, while 60% thought the likelihood would not change. In a poll asking the same question soon after North Korea carried out a fourth nuclear test in Jan. 2016, just 21% of respondents thought war would become more likely (compared to 69% who said it would not). “This suggests that South Koreans are feeling a little more nervous about North Korea,” Gallup concluded.

If North Korea refuses to give up its nuclear weapons, 57% of respondents believe that all aid to the North should be suspended, while 39% think that humanitarian aid to the North should be maintained. Opinions about the construction of the Shin-Kori 5 and 6 nuclear power reactors were evenly matched, with 40% thinking that construction should move forward and 42% thinking it should be halted. 19% of respondents declined to answer.

This poll showed Moon with a job approval rating of 77%, the same as last week. The percentage of respondents who think he is doing a bad job rose two points to 15%. “North Korean nuclear weapons, security and THAAD are being cited more commonly among critical assessments. Since there were few mentions of the real estate measures and the tax reform plan that the government announced on Aug. 2, it remains to be seen how the government will respond to these,” Gallup said.

A question about party support showed the Minjoo Party at 46%, down 4 points from the previous week, while the conservative Liberty Korea Party was at 11%, the conservative Bareun Party at 10%, the left-wing Justice Party at 6% and the moderate People’s Party at 5%.

For the poll, Gallup surveyed 1,004 adults around the country using the random digit dialing on mobile phones (with 15% of the sample consisting of home landlines). The poll had a margin of error of ±3.1 points with a reliability of 95% and a response rate of 20%.

By Kim Nam-il, staff reporter

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