S. Koreans see family reunions easing tension

Some 87 percent of South Koreans forecast that the ongoing separated family reunion program will greatly contribute to easing tension on the Korean Peninsula. Most of them also assessed that the government`s sunshine policy of engagement with the North was significantly helpful for the realization of the family exchanges. At the same time, they feel that the government should grant pardons to the people who traveled to the North without authorization and allow North Koreans who served out long jail terms in the South to be repatriated to the North if they wish. These were the main results of a survey of 602 people aged 20 and older jointly conducted by Dong-A Ilbo and Research and Research (R&R) Aug. 16 and 17.

However, when asked if the government made too many concessions to the North in order to promote the family reunion program, some 81 percent of the respondents said yes, adopting a critical view of government policy. Opinions were divided with 48 percent pro and 50 percent con over the question of whether the government should increase economic assistance to Pyongyang in an effort to expand the family reunion project. When asked what kind of inter-Korean projects should first be promoted, 61 percent said those in the economic sector, 19 percent in sports, 14 percent in arts, and 4 percent in academics. This indicates that the public has adopted a very pragmatic attitude toward current inter-Korean issues.

Meanwhile, answering a question about the North Korean visitors` remarks in support of the North Korean regime, 22 percent of the respondents said that the comments were worrisome while 52 percent said that they did not matter. In addition, 53 percent of them stated that such remarks would contribute to tightening the South`s security posture, representing their strong confidence in the nation`s security consciousness.