Effects of Information Provision on Responses to Opinion Polls on the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement

Abstract

Two deliberative polls on the Korea–United States Free Trade Agreement were conducted in 2006 and 2007. In both experiments, the respondents become more negative toward the agreement after acquiring additional information provided by a panel discussion and a question-and-answer session. In particular, approval for the expected benefits of the agreement dropped significantly, while perception of its costs remained relatively stable. This experiment shows that public support for the agreement may be vulnerable to counterargument. In spite of the current majority support, the government should step up its efforts to convince the public of the benefits of the agreement in a more tangible way.