By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

The largest opposition Democratic Party (DP) is enjoying increasing support after violent clashes at the National Assembly over the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States last week, according to the latest polls Thursday.

A poll conducted by Seoul-based agency RealMeter between Monday and Tuesday showed the liberal party receiving support from 24.2 percent of 700 respondents, 5.1 percentage points higher than a week ago.

The conservative governing Grand National Party (GNP) received 34.5 percent, down 4.7 percentage points.

Another survey conducted by Hangil Research found the DP with support of 12.7 percent, up 4.3 percentage points from a previous poll.

The now-defunct governing Uri Party, the de facto predecessor of the DP, suffered from rock-bottom popularity ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election.

DP officials said the latest poll results show negative public opinion toward the GNP's unilateral move to pass pending bills, including a motion to ratify the FTA with the United States.

On Dec. 18, the governing party introduced the FTA motion and advanced it to a legislative review committee in a closed-door hearing, blocking opposition legislators from entering the room.

More people tend to blame the GNP, which commands 172 seats in the 299-member unicameral legislature, for the violent clashes that followed. The DP has 83 seats.

In a survey conducted by the Korea Society Opinion Institute, 48.1 percent of 1,000 respondents said the melee was caused by the GNP's unilateral action. Members of the opposition parties used a sledgehammer to attack a door to the room and were met with fire extinguishers fired by GNP supporters.

Nearly 60 percent said they do not feel sympathy for the GNP's move to pass pending bills this year, while about 30 percent said they agreed on the necessity to promptly deal with the bills.

The DP was criticized for the physical struggle as well because 33.7 percent answered that the party was responsible for making the Assembly into a battle field.

The DP hailed the survey results but expressed concern over a possible backlash.

``The results confirmed that people are concerned about the ruling camp's self-righteousness,'' a DP official said asking to remain anonymous. ``But if the Assembly is paralyzed for a long time, the public will turn their back on all parties.''

ksy@koreatimes.co.kr