Half of Koreans oppose US FTA
Korea Times | 07-31-2006
Half of Koreans Oppose US FTA
Middle Class Is Shrinking As 26 Percent Say They Belong to the Group : Poll
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
Half of South Koreans said in a recent poll that they oppose a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
In the survey of 1,000 Korean men in their 40s and 50s, 50 percent of the respondents disapproved of the FTA, 3.7 percentage points higher than those approving it.
The poll was conducted by The Korea Times’ sister paper, the Seoul Economic Daily, July 20-22, marking its 46th anniversary, which falls on Tuesday.
The disapproval rate increased from 29.2 percent on June 7 to 42.6 percent on July 6 and 50 percent on July 22.
A pollster in Seoul said Koreans might have started thinking seriously about the FTA’s impact on the economy after the end of the FIFA World Cup soccer match.
"The first round of negotiations took place just days before the beginning of the World Cup on June 10, which distracted people from the negotiations," said Kim Chun-seok, a manager of Hankook Research, the company that conducted the survey.
The telephone survey has a plus or minus 3.1-percent margin of error and a 95 percent confidence level.
"People’s concern intensified as they saw fierce protests against the FTA when the second round of negotiations was held here from July 10 to 14," he said. "I think it provided people with a chance to ponder the pros and cons of the FTA."
Around 75 percent of the respondents showed discontent with Seoul’s negotiation performance, four times higher than those satisfied.
The survey also showed that the number of those who think they belong to the middle class is decreasing. Around 36 percent said they were middle-class citizens in September 2005, but that figure dwindled to 25.5 percent in July 2006.
The respondents also said that to be considered rich, they should have more than 1.17 billion won ($1.1 million) in financial assets, excluding real estate.
Around 62 percent of those interviewed consider investment in real estate the best way for increasing wealth, while 54.4 percent said the current high tax policy on real estate is burdensome and will not pay off.
The influx of foreign capital was welcomed by 54.6 percent, but 42.6 percent said it will negatively affect the economy.
Nearly 47 percent of those polled said the government should make it more difficult for foreign companies to buy Korean ones, while 43.8 percent said there would be no problem if the purchase boosts the economy.
Only 8.1 percent said the government should promote the take-over of Korean businesses by foreign companies.
Most of the respondents said the proper age for retirement is 61.2, with around 61 percent of them believing they will be able to retire from the companies they are currently working for.
Nearly 94 percent of the respondents said it is necessary to introduce a "salary peak" system that reduces salaries after a certain age in return for a guarantee that they can continue to work until their retirement.
