Issue Brief

IFS Issue Brief December 2024 Vol.16
“2024 Survey on Korean Voters’ Perceptions of Democracy”

This study is the first systematically conducted survey in Korea on perceptions of democracy. It was designed to capture the authentic views of ordinary citizens during a period without major political events, thereby minimizing any influence stemming from evaluations of the current administration. The survey was conducted through direct face-to-face interviews. As a result, more than 70 percent of respondents expressed overall satisfaction with Korean democracy, and there was a notable tendency to regard economic development and the reduction of inequality as its core achievements.

The survey found that voters generally believe that elections are free and fair (75 percent), although some remain concerned about money politics or discrimination arising from socioeconomic inequality. They tend to value economic development (68.1 percent) over democracy itself, and the reduction of economic inequality (75.2 percent) over the guarantee of political freedoms. Nearly half of the respondents expressed skepticism about the level of rule of law in Korea. Regarding constitutional reform, a majority preferred a U.S.-style four-year, two-term presidency (68.6 percent), and there was also strong support for maintaining the current first-past-the-post electoral system (82.5 percent).

The findings further indicate that voters feel proud of Korea’s democratic development (79.8 percent). At the same time, responses such as “under certain circumstances, dictatorship may be better” (20.3 percent) and “democracy cannot solve our society’s problems” (25.2 percent) reveal the presence of a latent preference for strong leadership within certain segments of the electorate. The research team recommends regularly tracking these shifts in public perception, emphasizing the need for institutional reforms that can prevent threats to democracy and substantively improve its quality.

Keywords
Survey on democratic perceptions, economic development and inequality, electoral fairness, rule of law, constitutional reform preferences, authoritarian leadership tendencies, democratic satisfaction, quality of democracy, institutional reform