What did the latest South Korea unification poll show about support for reunification with North Korea?

The poll found that 39 percent of respondents said unification is necessary, while 32.2 percent said it is not necessary. The share saying it is necessary was down from 41.1 percent last year.

Why is support for unification weaker among younger South Koreans?

The survey showed much lower support among younger adults, with only 25.2 percent of people in their 20s and 27 percent in their 30s saying unification is necessary. In those age groups, 44.8 percent and 47 percent, respectively, said it is not necessary.

What did the poll say about South Koreans’ views on nuclear armament and North Korea?

A record 61.1 percent supported South Korea’s own nuclear armament, and 90.4 percent said North Korea would not give up nukes. The poll also found that 78.3 percent believed dialogue and compromise with the North Korean regime is impossible.

Less than 40 % of S. Koreans say unification with N. Korea necessary: poll

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Summary

Less than 40 percent of South Koreans said unification with North Korea is necessary in a poll commissioned by Seoul National University’s Institute for Peace and Unification Studies. Support was much lower among people in their 20s and 30s, while distrust of North Korea and support for South Korea’s own nuclear armament both reached record highs.

Key Facts

The poll found 39 percent of respondents said unification is necessary, down from 41.1 percent last year.
Among people in their 20s, 25.2 percent said unification is necessary, and among those in their 30s, the share was 27 percent.
The share saying unification is impossible rose to 39.1 percent, the highest figure since the institute began the survey in 2007.
A record 61.1 percent supported South Korea’s own nuclear armament, up from 51.8 percent last year.
This year’s poll was conducted by Gallup Korea on 1,200 adults from July 1 to 26, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

By Yonhap

Published Sep 28, 2026 5:16 pm KST

North Korean structures can be seen past a barbed wire fense in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, June 11, 2020. Newsis

Less than 40 percent of South Koreans view unification with North Korea as necessary, a poll showed Monday, with younger people far less supportive.

According to the poll commissioned by Seoul National University's Institute for Peace and Unification Studies, 39 percent of respondents said unification is necessary, down from 41.1 percent last year.

The poll showed that 32.2 percent of respondents viewed unification as not necessary, up from 30.4 percent last year, and more than double from 15.1 percent in 2007, when the institute first conducted the survey.

Among those in their 20s and 30s, 25.2 percent and 27 percent, respectively, said unification is necessary, while 44.8 percent and 47 percent in the respective age groups said it is not.

The poll also showed that 39.1 percent of respondents believed unification is impossible, the highest figure since 2007. It found a record 31.5 percent saying they prefer the status quo of the Koreas being divided.

Distrust toward North Korea increased, with 78.3 percent saying that dialogue and compromise with the North Korean regime is impossible, up from last year's 66.5 percent.

The poll showed that a record 83.3 percent believed the North Korean regime would not want unification, while 90.4 percent said North Korea would not give up nukes.

It also found that a record 61.1 percent supported South Korea's own nuclear armament, up from last year's 51.8 percent.

The institute, however, noted the result should not be interpreted as accounting for the costs or diplomatic pressure that would result from the move.

This year's poll was conducted by Gallup Korea on 1,200 adults from July 1 to 26, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

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