[Yonhap]
[Yonhap]

The ideological divide between conservatives and progressives ranks as the most serious conflict in South Korean society, even as the share of citizens who identify as progressive has grown and those who identify as conservative has shrunk, a new survey shows.

On national policy direction, support for prioritizing economic growth increased while the share favoring redistribution fell.

The Korea Institute of Public Administration released the findings Tuesday, drawing on its "2025 Social Integration Survey," which polled 8,305 adults aged 19 and older nationwide between August and September last year. The institute conducts the survey annually to gauge social cohesion and public attitudes.

Ideological conflict rated most severe; 43.4% identify as centrist

Among the various conflicts embedded in Korean society, the ideological clash between conservative and progressive groups was rated the most severe, scoring 3.2 out of 4 points.

Class conflict between the upper-middle class and the poor came second at 2.9 points, followed by labor-management conflict at 2.8 points.

Regional conflict between the greater Seoul area and non-metropolitan regions, value conflict between development and environmental protection, and generational conflict between older and younger Koreans each scored 2.7 points. Conflicts between religious groups, between men and women, and between Korean nationals and foreigners were relatively lower, each at 2.6 points.

Respondents cited the pursuit of self-interest by stakeholders (26.3%), a lack of mutual understanding between individuals and groups (21.8%), the wealth gap (19.0%), differences in values between individuals and groups (18.5%) and concentration of power (10.1%) as the main causes of conflict.

On subjective ideological orientation, centrists made up the largest share at 43.4% — down 1.8 percentage points from the 2024 survey.

Those identifying as progressive rose 2.7 percentage points to 27.1%, while those identifying as conservative fell 0.6 percentage points to 29.6%.

Support for redistribution hits survey low; generative AI emerges as information source

Support for prioritizing economic growth over redistribution increased in the survey's question on national policy direction.

The share saying distribution is important fell 5.4 percentage points from the previous year to 31.2% — the lowest recorded since the survey began. Meanwhile, those saying growth is important rose 2.8 percentage points to 30.3%, and those saying both growth and distribution matter climbed 2.5 percentage points to 38.5%.

[Korea Institute of Public Administration, '2025 Social Integration Survey']
[Korea Institute of Public Administration, '2025 Social Integration Survey']

On subjective well-being, respondents rated their happiness at 6.9 out of 10, up 0.1 points from the previous year. By age group, those in their 30s scored highest at 7.2 points, while those aged 60 and older scored lowest at 6.7 points.

When asked about the likelihood of improving one's socioeconomic status through effort, respondents rated their own prospects at 2.7 out of 4 — up 0.1 points from the previous year — while prospects for their children held steady at 2.8 points.

Satisfaction with the political situation scored 5.5 out of 10, while satisfaction with the economic situation scored 5.3 points. Political satisfaction rose 0.4 points from the previous year; economic satisfaction was unchanged.

Looking five years ahead, respondents rated their outlook for both the political and economic situations at 5.8 points each.

Television was the most commonly cited information source at 61.6%, followed by messaging apps (53.3%), online video platforms (32.7%) and social media (20.3%). Generative AI appeared for the first time as an information source, cited by 3.5% of respondents.

Among institutions, educational and medical institutions earned the highest trust ratings, each scoring 2.8 out of 4 points. Financial institutions and large companies followed at 2.7 points each; trust in large companies rose 0.2 points from the previous year. Among law enforcement and judicial bodies, police scored 2.5 points, courts 2.4 points and prosecutors 2.3 points. The media and civic organizations each scored 2.4 points.


thlee@heraldcorp.com