Seoul: Only 31 percent of South Koreans believe that unification with North Korea is in their interest, a poll revealed.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the survey was conducted by the Korea Institute for National Unification between April and May of the previous year, involving 1,001 adults aged 18 or older.
The results showed that far fewer than half of respondents across all age groups felt that unification of the two Koreas would benefit them personally. Specifically, 30.6 percent of those surveyed said that unification would be either very or somewhat beneficial to them. Among millennials, defined as individuals born after 1991, only 23.5 percent shared this sentiment.
Despite these personal reservations, the survey indicated that 66.4 percent of respondents believed unification would be either very or somewhat beneficial to South Korea as a whole. Furthermore, a significant 92.4 percent expressed the view that it would be in the interest of the North Korean populace.
Overall, 52.9 percent of participants stated that unification is necessary, a figure that closely mirrors the record low of 52.7 percent recorded in a similar 2019 poll by the institute. The institute noted that respondents consistently maintain that while the country and the North Korean people might gain from unification, they personally have little to gain, highlighting a growing public skepticism toward unification.
The poll, conducted from April 18 to May 16 last year, carried a 95 percent confidence level with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.