65.6% oppose aid to N. Korea

More than 65 percent of the Korea Times anniversary survey respondents said they are against humanitarian aid to North Korea.

In September, the Ministry of Unification authorized its first aid donation worth $8 million (approximately 9 billion won) to people in the impoverished regime through the World Food Program (WFP) and UNICEF, United Nations branches.

According to the survey of the Moon Jae-in administration’s policy on humanitarian aid to the North, 65.6 percent said they don’t support the aid. Those who support it accounted for 32.8 percent, while 1.6 percent didn’t answer.

The ministry authorized $4.5 million to the WFP for nutrients for children and pregnant women and $3.5 million for UNICEF for vaccines and basic medicines for children and pregnant women. But the timing of the aid is still unclear. The decision on aid came when North Korea’s military provocation was at its worst, drawing criticism from in and outside Korea. The government defended itself, saying humanitarian aid should be separate from politics and the aid will continue. Big public opposition to the aid shown in the survey results also reflected the tensions.

According to the result, men were stronger than women in their opposition — 66.4 percent of men answered no, while 64.8 percent of the women answered yes. By age, the opposition was strong among those in their 20s, with 72.1 percent disapproving the aid. People in their 30s were the most supportive, with only 55.8 percent saying no to the aid. People in Gangwon Province and Jeju expressed the strongest disapproval, with 80.2 percent, while only 44.9 percent of citizens in Gwangju and Jeolla Provinces, President Moon’s home turf, said they disapprove of the aid.

For more information, please visit the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission’s homepage (www. http://www.nesdc.go.kr).