The Reform Institute, affiliated with the Reform Party, has released the results of a public opinion poll regarding the use of the expression "museopno" by Woni, a member of the five-member girl group RESCENE.
The survey was conducted by the Reform Institute using an automated response system (ARS) with random digit dialing (RDD), targeting 500 adults nationwide over two days, from yesterday to today.
The Reform Institute conducted the poll in relation to claims made by Cho Kuk, former leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, that the term "museopno," used by Woni—who is from Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province—is a term associated with the far-right online community "Ilbe."
Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, stated, "The awareness of the 'museopno' controversy was quite high, with 70.6% of respondents saying they were aware of it."
He continued, "Regarding the expression itself, 55.8% said it could be seen as a regional dialect, which is more than three times the 16.7% who viewed it as an 'Ilbe-style expression.' Among those in their 20s and 30s, the response that it is a dialect was overwhelming at 78%."
Lee argued, "The key point is that 68.1% of respondents said it is 'inappropriate' to judge someone's political orientation based on their speech or expressions," adding, "This means the majority of the public rejects the frame of this controversy itself, which involves labeling someone based on their dialect."
He further added, "The public sentiment read from the survey results is that political figures should not launch ideological attacks against figures in the entertainment industry for political purposes."
Woni, a member of the five-member girl group RESCENE, which has recently gained popularity for content featuring the Gyeongsang Province dialect, used the expression "museopno" in a YouTube video released on June 28.
Former leader Cho Kuk criticized this, labeling it an Ilbe expression and asserting, "Young people should realize that adding 'no' to questions is a wrong form of hate speech and should stop using it."
However, criticism against Cho is growing, particularly among those in their 20s and 30s, with comments such as "conducting ideological tests over a single word" and "politicians are labeling a young celebrity over a single phrase."
<Survey Overview> - Commissioned by: Reform Institute (Internal Survey) - Survey Period: July 6 – 7, 2026 (2 days) - Target: 500 men and women aged 18 or older nationwide - Method: 100% wireless ARS (Automated Response System) RDD - Respondent Selection: 100% wireless RDD - Response Rate: 0.53% - Margin of Error: ±4.4%p at a 95% confidence level - Weighting: Rim weighting (gender, age, region) based on resident registration population data from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety as of June 2026