Nearly 70% of S. Koreans want resumption of Gaeseong park

The Gaeseong Industrial Complex is seen from Dora Observatory on the South Korean side of the DMZ, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in this Sept. 25, 2013 photo. / AP-Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

Almost seven out of 10 South Koreans want the resumption of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and tours to Mount Geumgang in North Korea, according to a poll released Thursday.

In the poll of 502 adults nationwide conducted by Realmeter, 68.9 percent said they support the reopening of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and resuming of tours to Mount Geumgang, which will only possible after the U.S. eases sanctions on the North. Meanwhile, 26.5 percent said they disagree with this idea.

The support rate increased by about 20 percentage points compared to the survey conducted in June 2017, the pollster said.

To be specific, other than supporters of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), supporters of ruling and minor political parties agreed with the resumption.

The data came amid talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi. It has been largely expected that the U.S. will agree to provide a partial lifting of sanctions to the North in response to the regime's certain denuclearization measures.

The inter-Korean industrial park has been closed and reopened several times amid political turbulence. It was the last shut down in early 2016, when the Park Geun-hye administration pulled out all South Korean businesses and their workers as part of its unilateral sanctions against the North.

At its peak, the complex housed more than 120 South Korean firms with some 50,000 North Korean workers.