Public Support for Nuclear Proliferation and Nationalist Sentiments in South Korea

The unusually high demand for nuclear weapon acquisition among the South Korean public is puzzling for two reasons at least. First, the high percentage of support for nuclear armament is not explained since the US nuclear umbrella has long and stably been provided - which is also credible and effective in deterring nuclear threats from the North. Second, if the general public is not well-informed about highly specialized issues like nuclear proliferation, why do they answer in such a distinct and nearly uniform manner to articulate support for nuclear proliferation? This study focuses on psychological theories of nuclear proliferation (Hymans, 2006) to explain the emergence of volatile but converging attitudes toward nuclear proliferation among South Korean citizens. Using survey data of a nationally representative sample, this study reports that psychological factors are more significantly associated with the support for nuclear proliferation than security-oriented or rational choice-based factors. In particular, our multivariate logistic regression models confirm that the anti-Japanese sentiment is a strong predictor of support for nuclear weapon acquisition, while security-based explanations are only partially evidenced. Also, the effect of the anti-Japanese sentiment is only significant when combined with the anti-American sentiment. We conclude that the realization of South Korea’s indigenous nuclear program is not likely, but the instrumental use of the anti-Japanese sentiment in domestic politics could create bipartisan support for nuclear armament from politically polarized groups.