By Choi Sung-jin
One in two Koreans think split family members in South and North Korea should have reunions during the Chuseok holiday despite strained inter-Korean relations, a survey showed Monday.
According to the survey of 1,005 people conducted by Gallup Korea at the request of the National Assembly Speaker’s Office, 48.9 percent of respondents said the two Koreas should hold family reunions regardless of the political situation.
The survey has a 95 percent confidence level with a sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Among other respondents, 41.5 percent approved of the reunions by “taking inter-Korean relationships into account,” and the other 5.5 percent thought it “unnecessary.”
“Despite the recent North Korean nuclear test and missile launches, Koreans seem to think family reunions should go on consistently from a humanitarian viewpoint,” the Speaker’s Office said.
As to the actual chances of holding reunions this Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving Day, which falls on Sept. 14-16, however, only 14.8 percent thought it “possible” with 69.3 percent saying “not possible.”
Asked whether another summit was needed to restore a good relationship between the two Koreas, 75.5 percent agreed while 20.7 percent disagreed.
As for the possibility of holding an inter-Korean summit within the tenure of the incumbent administration, however, 69.1 percent thought it “unlikely” and only 20.1 percent viewed it as “likely.”
The survey was the first since Speaker Chung Sye-kyun took office. The Speaker’s Office said it would hold various opinion polls on pending issues and release the results.
“I call for North Korea to alter its attitude toward a more genuine direction for the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula as well as the changes in the South Korean government’s policy that has persistently resorted to only pressuring the North,” Speaker Chung said. “South Korea should continue to pursue humanitarian exchanges even amid the sanctions on the North, and Seoul needs to consider holding family reunion events during this Chuseok.”
Chung plans to visit some aged family members to comfort them on Sept. 2, the office said.