On December 4, as the first snow of the season fell in Pyongyang, a masked citizen rides a bicycle along a snow-covered street. (Photo source: Korean Central News Agency = Yonhap) (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution)
SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — A large majority of South Koreans believe that maintaining peaceful coexistence with North Korea is more important than achieving reunification, according to a government survey released Thursday.
The Unification Ministry’s poll found that 79.4 percent of respondents agreed that “peaceful coexistence without war is more important than reunification,” reflecting a significant shift toward pragmatism amid prolonged inter-Korean tensions. Of these, 37.1 percent said they “strongly agree,” while 42.2 percent “somewhat agree.”
Support was also high for what the government describes as a “peace-oriented two-state framework,” under which the two Koreas would acknowledge one another’s de facto statehood while seeking stable coexistence. Nearly 70 percent of respondents said they favor such an approach.
Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young, addressing reporters earlier this week, said the findings reflect broad public backing for a realistic stance on inter-Korean relations.
“The overwhelming majority of our people support a peaceful two-state relationship,” he said, dismissing political criticism that such discussions amount to abandoning reunification. “Misrepresenting this as giving up on unification is a distortion driven by politics.”
As the government announced plans to resume inter-Korean dialogue, waterfowl were seen flying across the inter-Korean boundary on December 8 near a North Korean guard post along the Imjin River in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. (Yonhap)
Meanwhile, 64.6 percent of respondents said they agreed with the statement that “North Korea is also a state,” underscoring a growing readiness to treat the North as a practical counterpart rather than an eventual merger partner.
When asked how they perceive North Korea, respondents most commonly described it as a “partner for cooperation” (42.6 percent), followed by a target of caution (23.8 percent), an enemy (22.6 percent) and a recipient of aid (8.4 percent).
Despite the tilt toward coexistence, a majority — 62 percent — still believes reunification is necessary, though the survey suggests it may no longer be viewed as an immediate or overriding priority.
Awareness of Pyongyang’s own “hostile two-state theory” was high, with 80 percent of respondents saying they were familiar with it, and 77.8 percent expressing negative views of the North’s framing.
The nationwide telephone survey, conducted by Gallup Korea from Dec. 2 to 8, included 1,005 adults aged 18 and older. It has a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
