hankyoreh

An overwhelming percentage of South Korean voters hold a negative view on the sudden deployment of the THAAD missile defense system at the Seongju golf course in North Gyeongsang Province on Apr. 26 by the US military and the South Korean government, a new survey found. Even among voters who support the THAAD deployment, nine out of 10 think the US should cover the cost of the deployment.

A poll of 1,011 adults 19 and older throughout South Korea that Research Plus, commissioned by the Hankyoreh, carried out on May 1 and 2 found that only 28.4% of respondents thought that Seoul and Washington did the right thing with their recent sudden deployment of the THAAD system. In contrast, 65.7% of all respondents are either opposed to the THAAD deployment itself or feel that there was a problem with how it’s being deployed. 36.8% of all respondents said that THAAD needs to be deployed but that it should not be rushed, while 28.9% said that the THAAD deployment is a mistake and that it should be reconsidered by the next administration.

Poll on sudden THAAD deployment (Conducted by Research Plus)

Respondents in their 60s and older (47.6%) and supporters of conservative Liberty Korea Party candidate Hong Joon-pyo (75.3%) were most likely to support the sudden deployment of THAAD. Respondents in their twenties and younger (44.1%) and in their forties (42.7%) and supporters of moderate People’s Party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo (47.6%) were most likely to think it was wrong to rush the THAAD deployment. A large number of respondents in their thirties (42.8%) and supporters of liberal Minjoo Party candidate Moon Jae-in (48.9%) thought that the THAAD deployment needs to be reconsidered.

When voters who agree on the need for deploying THAAD were asked about how the cost of the THAAD deployment should be handled - a recent point of contention between South Korea and the US - a remarkable 92.6% said that the US should cover the costs according to the original agreement. Just 3.1% of respondents thought that South Korea should accept Trump‘s demand for South Korea to pay for THAAD.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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