Photo: Scene of the Itaewon Disaster on October 29. Credit: The Blue Roof.
A round-up of polls following the Itaewon Halloween Disaster shows strong disapproval over the Yoon Suk-yeol 윤석열 administration’s handling of the October 29 incident that killed 158.
In a poll conducted November 7 and 8 by SBS News and NextResearch, 69.1% said the governmental response to the disaster was “inappropriate,” with only 27.8% saying the response was appropriate. 70% of respondents polled by Gallup Korea from November 8 to 10 said the government’s response was inappropriate.
Most blame the government for the disaster. In a poll conducted from October 31 to November 2 by Newstomato, 73.1% of respondents said the central and local governments were responsible for the disaster. In a poll from November 12 to 14 by Newspim and RNsearch, 33.3% of respondents said the Office of the President was the most responsible for the disaster, followed by the police (26.4%).
There have as yet been no resignations among senior Yoon administration officials; only the Yongsan-gu District police chief was placed on administrative leave. In another poll by Newstomato, conducted from November 8 to 9, 57.3% of respondents called President Yoon’s apology inadequate. A plurality, or 28.3%, said Yoon’s entire cabinet should resign; 27% said Prime Minister Han Deok-su 한덕수 국무총리, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min 이상민 행정안전부 장관 and National Police Agency chief Yun Hee-geun 윤희근 경찰청장 should resign.