Troop Dispatch to Iraq: “No” 53 Percent, “Yes” 40 Percent

With the recent aggravation of the situation in Iraq, public opinion appears to lean toward opposition over the dispatch of additional troops to Iraq, currently scheduled for June.

According to the results of public-opinion poll by Dong-A Ilbo, 549 of 1030 respondents or 53.3 percent opposed additional troop dispatch, while 40.2 percent supported it.

The percentage opposing the troop dispatch is the highest one since the public-opinion poll carried out by MBC following the killing of two employees of Omu Electric Co. by Iraqi insurgents on November 30, 2003 last year.

While 70.7 percent and 65.2 percent of those respondents in their 20s and the 30s respectively responded that “additional troop dispatch should be reconsidered,” only 34.3 percent of those over 50 had the same opinion, and 49.7 percent of the same group answered that “Korea should dispatch additional troops.”

When classified by party, 74.2 percent, 60.9 percent and 56.1 percent of those who support the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) and Uri Party, respectively, opposed additional troop dispatch, while 45.8 percent of the Grand National Party (GNP) supporters responded that “additional troop dispatch should be reconsidered,” and 49.3 percent said that “Korea should dispatch additional troops.”

Meanwhile, when asked if the attitude of candidates or parties toward troop dispatch influence voting, 58.9 percent of the respondents said no, while only 27.5 percent said yes. When classified by age, residence, and occupation, the percentage of those who said yes to the question was highest among the twenties (29.4 %), the areas of Daejeon and Chungcheong (32.2%), and students (30.9%).

39.9 percent and 40.3 percent of MDP supporters and DLP supporters, respectively, responded that they utilize troop dispatch as important yardstick in voting.

Ho-Won Choi bestiger@donga.com