US President Donald Trump speaks during a back-to-school event in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Monday (local time). [AP]
US President Donald Trump speaks during a back-to-school event in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Monday (local time). [AP]

More than half of South Koreans now view the United States unfavorably, according to a new Pew Research Center survey — the first time the figure has crossed that threshold in more than two decades of polling.

However, the negative sentiment has not eroded South Koreans' view of the alliance itself: the share of respondents who consider the US their country's most important ally remains high.

The survey, released Monday (local time), found that 55% of South Korean respondents said they hold an unfavorable view of the United States — up 16 percentage points from 39% last year.

The share with a favorable view fell to 45%, a drop of 16 percentage points from last year. The share saying they view the US "very unfavorably" doubled, rising from 9% last year to 18% this year.

It is the first time a majority of South Koreans have expressed a negative view of the United States in the survey's history.

The only previous year in which unfavorable views (50%) outnumbered favorable ones (46%) was 2003, when anti-American sentiment surged following the deaths of two middle school girls struck by a US military armored vehicle during a training exercise.

Trust in the United States also fell sharply. Some 57% of South Koreans described the US as a trustworthy partner — down 26 percentage points from 83% when the same question was last asked in 2022, during the Joe Biden administration. The share of South Koreans who said the US contributes "a lot" or "a great deal" to global peace and stability dropped to 47%, from 74% in 2023, a decline of 27 percentage points.

South Koreans also expressed broad opposition to Donald Trump's tariff policy, with 85% saying they view it negatively. Of those, 63% said they oppose it "strongly." Only 14% said they support the policy.

Trump's handling of Iran drew similar disapproval, with 73% of South Koreans expressing dissatisfaction.

Despite the negative ratings, views of the alliance remained strong. Some 84% of South Koreans named the US as their country's most important ally — down 5 percentage points from last year but still a high level.

In last year's survey of 24 countries, South Korea ranked second only to Israel in the share of respondents who named the US as their most important ally.

The findings are part of Pew Research Center's ongoing 2026 Global Attitudes Survey. The South Korea portion surveyed 1,045 adults between March 3 and April 4.


yckim6452@heraldcorp.com