"Do You Feel Favorably Toward the U.S.?"… This Is Higher? A Dramatic Shift in Just One Year

The U.S. polling organization Pew Research Center asked South Roreans whether they feel favorably toward the United States.

Fifty-five percent responded unfavorably, while 45 percent responded favorably.

This is the first time the unfavorable response rate has exceeded half since the organization began conducting the same survey in 2002.

In just one year, the favorable response rate dropped by 16 percentage points, and the unfavorable response rate rose by that same margin.

This marks only the second time since 2003 that respondents viewing the U.S. unfavorably outnumbered those viewing it favorably.

In 2003, anti-American sentiment spread following the incident where two middle school girls were killed by a U.S. military armored vehicle during a training exercise, but negative opinions toward the U.S. have now surpassed that level.

South Koreans' trust in the U.S. has also declined significantly.

Only 57 percent of South Koreans answered that the U.S. is a "reliable partner," which is a drop of 26 percentage points compared to 83 percent four years ago during the Biden administration.

Regarding President Trump's tariff policies, 85 percent expressed a negative stance, with 63 percent voicing strong opposition.

As for President Trump's approach to dealing with Iran, 73 percent also expressed dissatisfaction.

While negative views toward the U.S. and President Trump are spreading among South Koreans, perceptions regarding the South Korea-U.S. alliance remained strong.

Eighty-four percent of South Koreans chose the U.S. as their most important ally, which, although 5 percentage points lower than last year, remains a high level.

In last year's survey across 24 countries, South Korea recorded the second-highest proportion of respondents choosing the U.S. as their most important ally, following Israel.

This survey was conducted as part of the ongoing "Global Attitudes Survey" by Pew Research Center. The survey in South Korea was carried out among 1,045 adults for one month starting March 3.

(Reported by Kim Minpyo | Video by Kim Jong-tae | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.