The new U.S. Forces Korea headquarters at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 29 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent survey showed that 96.5 percent of South Koreans think the nation’s contribution to the joint defense costs for American troops in South Korea, a thorny issue that is being negotiated between South Korea and the U.S., should be reduced or maintained at a current level.
The Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) revealed on Thursday the results of the “KINU Unification Awareness Survey 2020”, with a sampling error within plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
Upon request by the KINU, Hankook Research carried out a survey of 1,003 South Korean adults over the age of 18 from May 20 to June 10.
At 69.6 percent, more than two thirds of the respondents said that the nation’s contribution to the joint defense costs should be maintained at the current level (1.04 trillion won as of 2019), while 26.9 percent said it should be reduced.
Compared to a previous survey, the share of the respondents who said the nation’s contribution to the joint defense costs should be reduced increased from 24.8 percent to 26.9 percent, indicating a stronger public opinion against Washington’s repeated pressure for a hefty increase in South Korea’s share of defense costs.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
