A poll by a U.S. research institute found that 55 percent of Koreans have an unfavorable opinion of the United States, marking the first time in two decades that more than half of respondents have expressed a negative view of the country. The figure was even higher than that recorded following the 2002 deaths of middle school students Shin Hyo-sun and Shim Mi-seon, who were struck and killed by a U.S. military armored vehicle. Nevertheless, Koreans still widely regarded the United States as their country’s most important ally. Favorable opinion falls by 16 percentage points According to the Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey released by the Pew Research Center on Monday, 55 percent of South Koreans said they had an unfavorable opinion of the United States, up 16 percentage points from 39 percent last year. In particular, the proportion of respondents with a “very unfavorable” opinion doubled from 9 percent last year to 18 percent this year. By contrast, 45 percent viewed the United States favorably, down 16 percentage points from a year earlier. The survey was conducted among 1,04