By Choi Sung-jin
Nearly half of Koreans think the current conscription system for military service should continue, a survey shows.
According to the results of a recent Gallup Korea poll released prior to Armed Forces Day on Saturday, 48 percent of the respondents support compulsory military service, far more than the 35 percent who said the nation should shift to a volunteer system. The remaining 17 percent deferred to answer.
By age, support for the draft or the volunteer system among 20-something respondents was 44 vs. 40 percent, respectively. Among people in their 30s, the comparable portion was 41 vs. 45 percent with the volunteer system showing a higher approval rate. The 40-something respondents supported both systems exactly the same, 43 and 43 percent.
Among people 50 and older, however, the conscription system enjoyed indisputable support at 55 percent.
By political party, 54-55 percent of the respondents who support the right-of-center Saenuri Party and the People's Party approve of the draft system but among people who support the left-of-center Minjoo Party of Korea or do not support any particular party, the gap between approval and disapproval was far smaller, remaining within 5-6 percentage points.
Gallup Korea conducted the survey with 1,004 people aged 19 and older through random digit dialing interviews this past week.
Out of the 481 respondents who said the conscription system should continue, the largest share of 23 percent cited the need for national security and existence as their reasons. Out of the 352 people who support the shift toward the volunteer system, the biggest portion of 31 percent said it is desirable that only those who want to join the army should do so.
Asked how beneficial military service has turned out to be for them, 43 percent said it has been very helpful and 29 percent replied that it has only been somewhat helpful. The total of 72 percent who made positive replies was 10 percent lower than the comparable share of 82 percent in 2011. Among the rest, 13 percent and 7 percent said military experience has turned out to be of little or no help for their lives while the remaining 8 percent deferred to answer.
Older people are more positive about the advantages of military experience, ranging from 78 percent among those in their 50s, to 88 percent among those in their 60s and older. For younger people in their 20s to 40s, positive feelings about military experience is in the 60-percent range.
The opinion poll has a confidence rate of 95 percent with sampling errors of plus-or-minus 3.1 percentage points.
Nearly half of Koreans think the current conscription system for military service should continue, a survey shows.
According to the results of a recent Gallup Korea poll released prior to Armed Forces Day on Saturday, 48 percent of the respondents support compulsory military service, far more than the 35 percent who said the nation should shift to a volunteer system. The remaining 17 percent deferred to answer.
By age, support for the draft or the volunteer system among 20-something respondents was 44 vs. 40 percent, respectively. Among people in their 30s, the comparable portion was 41 vs. 45 percent with the volunteer system showing a higher approval rate. The 40-something respondents supported both systems exactly the same, 43 and 43 percent.
Among people 50 and older, however, the conscription system enjoyed indisputable support at 55 percent.
By political party, 54-55 percent of the respondents who support the right-of-center Saenuri Party and the People's Party approve of the draft system but among people who support the left-of-center Minjoo Party of Korea or do not support any particular party, the gap between approval and disapproval was far smaller, remaining within 5-6 percentage points.
Gallup Korea conducted the survey with 1,004 people aged 19 and older through random digit dialing interviews this past week.
Out of the 481 respondents who said the conscription system should continue, the largest share of 23 percent cited the need for national security and existence as their reasons. Out of the 352 people who support the shift toward the volunteer system, the biggest portion of 31 percent said it is desirable that only those who want to join the army should do so.
Asked how beneficial military service has turned out to be for them, 43 percent said it has been very helpful and 29 percent replied that it has only been somewhat helpful. The total of 72 percent who made positive replies was 10 percent lower than the comparable share of 82 percent in 2011. Among the rest, 13 percent and 7 percent said military experience has turned out to be of little or no help for their lives while the remaining 8 percent deferred to answer.
Older people are more positive about the advantages of military experience, ranging from 78 percent among those in their 50s, to 88 percent among those in their 60s and older. For younger people in their 20s to 40s, positive feelings about military experience is in the 60-percent range.
The opinion poll has a confidence rate of 95 percent with sampling errors of plus-or-minus 3.1 percentage points.
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