Self-described liberals outnumbered people who defined themselves as conservatives in latest in June 1.
The results indicate that there has been a shift in political orientation among Korean over the past seven years.
The survey researched by the Han Kook newspaper also found that the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) overtook the governing Grand National Party (GNP) in popularity.
The poll was carried out on 1,000 adults from Saturday to Sunday, and the poll has a margin of error of plus and minus 3.1 percentage points.
The results showed that 28 percent of people described themselves as liberals, up 3.1 percentage points, while 27.7 percent said they were conservatives, down by 7.2 percentage points from seven years ago.
Professor Lim Sung-ho of the political science and international relations department at Kyung Hee University in Seoul said that there were several theories why there are many people who they describe as liberal.
“ I think the most convincing theory is that public mourning over the committing suicide of former President Roh Moo-hyun might have had the biggest influence on the reversal of the trend over the past seven years,” he mentioned.
But the political scientist didn’t deny the possibility that people might have changed their political philosophy for other reasons.
“To get more confidence and reliable data, I think that we need to open new poll and get results that are obtained after the nationwide mourning has ended,” Lim added.
The poll showed that there had been few changes in the proportion of people who describe themselves as moderates, marking 38.9 percent in the recent survey- it was 38.6 percent in 2002.
About 30 percent answered they support the liberal DP, while 27.3 percent said their preferred party was the conservative GNP.
The supporters for minor parties also suggested the public’s preference for liberal over conservatives.
The Democratic Labor Party ranked in third with 6.3 percent, followed by the Pro-Park Geun-hye Coalition with 5.5 percent and the New Progressive Party with 3.6 percent.
Source : Korea Times
