A year on from martial law crisis, political polarization is more ingrained, survey finds
Published: 01 Dec. 2025, 16:47
Updated: 01 Dec. 2025, 19:46
![Former President Yoon Suk Yeol announces a state of emergency martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/01/784f9501-5492-4780-8afe-24af34b2bb0c.jpg)
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol announces a state of emergency martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
One year after a blindsiding martial law decree threw Korea into turmoil, a new poll shows that a majority of the public believes the country has grown even more politically divided, with voters now split not only over who is to blame but also over how the crisis reshaped the nation’s democratic landscape.
A nationwide survey commissioned by the JoongAng Ilbo and conducted by Gallup Korea on Friday and Saturday found that 77 percent of 1,002 respondents believe political polarization has deepened since former President Yoon Suk Yeol imposed emergency martial law on Dec. 3, 2024.
Only 18 percent said they did not share that view. The perception that the country has become more divided crossed age, regional and occupational lines.
Supporters of smaller parties expressed even deeper anxiety over the state of national politics.
While 79 percent of supporters of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and 72 percent of supporters of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) said polarization had worsened, 87 percent of voters backing the minor Rebuilding Korea Party and 82 percent of those supporting the Reform Party said the same.
Analysts noted that rising polarization has narrowed the room to maneuver for third parties.
Blame falls along party lines
When asked who bears the greatest responsibility for the heightened division, 25 percent of respondents pointed to former President Yoon, followed by the PPP — Yoon's party at the time of the declaration — at 18 percent. They also cited the media at 16 percent, the DP at 12 percent, political YouTubers at 10 percent, President Lee Jae Myung at 10 percent and the public at 2 percent.
But those answers shifted significantly depending on party affiliation. Among DP supporters, 38 percent blamed Yoon and 29 percent blamed the PPP. Supporters of the PPP said the DP held the greatest responsibility at 32 percent, followed by President Lee at 26 percent.
Lee Sun-woo, a political scientist at Jeonbuk National University, said the findings reflect a political environment in which major-party supporters increasingly harden their views.
“In a society drifting toward deeper division, supporters of the major parties grow more hostile toward their opponents while their loyalty to their own side strengthens,” Lee said.
Conflicting views on martial law’s consequences
The survey also asked respondents about the most serious problems caused by the martial law crisis. Twenty-seven percent cited deepened political and social division, 26 percent noted weakened democratic values, 19 percent pointed to economic uncertainty and 13 percent to declining international credibility.
The answers again diverged by political orientation. DP supporters most often chose weakened democratic values at 38 percent. Supporters of the PPP most often cited deeper division at 26 percent.
Liberals and conservatives were also split: 42 percent of progressives pointed to democratic backsliding, while 30 percent of conservatives highlighted division.
“The results show how sharply [the two major camps] diverge in how they interpret the martial law crisis itself,” said Huh Jin-jae, a director at Gallup Korea.
Little consensus on presidential power
Yoon’s invocation of martial law prompted lawmakers to strengthen civilian control over the process. In July, the National Assembly passed revisions to the Martial Law Act that tighten legal requirements for declaring martial law and bar military and police personnel from entering the National Assembly if martial law is in effect. The crisis also revived demands for constitutional changes that would reduce the concentration of power in the presidency.
But half the public wants no such change. Forty-nine percent said the president’s authority should remain as it is, while 31 percent said it should be reduced and 13 percent said it should be expanded.
Party preferences shaped those views. A majority of DP supporters favored maintaining current presidential powers at 59 percent, followed by 21 percent who said they should grow. Among PPP supporters, 54 percent said presidential authority should shrink and 34 percent said it should remain unchanged.
Analysts said the divide reflects the fact that Lee, a DP president, is now in office.
Strong marks for President Lee
![President Lee Jae Myung takes the oath of office at the Rotunda Hall of the National Assembly building in Yeouido, western Seoul, on June 4. [LIM HYUN-DONG]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/01/c1606d81-b94a-41e8-b470-4cc2e7ac4237.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung takes the oath of office at the Rotunda Hall of the National Assembly building in Yeouido, western Seoul, on June 4. [LIM HYUN-DONG]
The poll found 62 percent of respondents believe President Lee has performed well since taking office on June 4. That figure includes 36 percent who said he has done “very well” and 27 percent who said he has done “fairly well.” Thirty-two percent rated his performance poorly — 13 percent, “somewhat poorly,” and 19 percent, “very poorly.”
A majority of respondents in every age group except those 70 and older, and in every region except conservative strongholds Daegu and North Gyeongsang, expressed favorable views. Progressives strongly supported him, while conservatives largely disapproved. Among moderates, positive assessments reached 68 percent, compared with negative reviews at 26 percent.
“With the aftershocks of the martial law crisis still lingering, public expectations for restoring normalcy have helped solidify President Lee’s support,” said Bae Cheol-ho, a political editor at polling firm Realmeter.
“But because partisan politics have become routine, and because of President Lee’s legal risks and the renewed focus on the Daejang-dong issue, his approval rating has little room to rise or fall," Bae said, referring to the Seongnam development corruption scandal that unfolded while Lee was the city's mayor.
DP leads, but June elections uncertain
Party preference results tracked recent polling. The liberal DP held 42 percent support, followed by the conservative PPP at 26 percent. The Reform Party drew 4 percent, the Rebuilding Korea Party, 2 percent, and the Progressive Party, 1 percent. Another 21 percent said they had no party preference.
Despite a generally favorable environment for the ruling DP camp as the martial law crisis continues to shape public sentiment, voters expressed no clear preference for next year’s local elections that will take place on June 3.
The poll found that 48 percent believe ruling party candidates should win more seats, while 42 percent said opposition parties should prevail, resulting in an overlap within the survey’s plus-minus 3.1-point margin of error for each datapoint.
Moderates leaned toward the ruling party at 51 percent to 36 percent, suggesting the electoral map still poses challenges for the opposition.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HEO JIN,YANG SU-MIN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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