More than half of South Koreans view US unfavorably for first time since 2003

A recent poll conducted by a U.S. research institute has revealed that 55 percent of Koreans hold an unfavorable view of the United States, marking the highest level in two decades. This percentage is even higher than during the 2002 incident where two middle school students were killed by a U.S. military armored vehicle. Despite this negative sentiment, South Koreans still consider the United States as their most important ally.

According to the Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey released by the Pew Research Center, 55 percent of South Koreans now view the U.S. unfavorably, marking a significant increase of 16 percentage points from last year's 39 percent. The proportion of respondents with a "very unfavorable" opinion has also doubled, rising from 9 percent last year to 18 percent this year.

Conversely, only 45 percent of South Koreans hold a favorable opinion of the United States, a decline of 16 percentage points from the previous year. The survey was conducted among 1,044 South Koreans.