A little over half of South Koreans support the abolishment of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family as proposed by the main opposition party's presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, a poll showed Wednesday.

According to the Realmeter survey that asked 1,011 adults on Monday and Tuesday, 51.9 percent said they support the dissolution of the ministry in charge of women's affairs, while 38.5 percent opposed it. The remaining 9.6 percent said they were undecided on the issue.

By gender, 64 percent of male respondents supported the abolition of the ministry. The survey showed 47.1 percent of female respondents were against the closure of the ministry.

By age group, 60.8 percent of those aged 18-29 and 56.7 percent of respondents in their 30s were in favor of the abolishment. In contrast, 44.1 percent of respondents in their 40s and 39.7 percent of respondents in their 50s were against it.

The poll showed 79 percent of supporters of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) and 73.3 percent of supporters of the minor opposition People's Party supported the abolition, while 62 percent of supporters of the ruling Democratic Party and 79.9 percent of supporters of the minor progressive Justice Party opposed the dissolution.

The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

The abolishment of the gender ministry became a hot issue in the presidential race after Yoon of the PPP pledged he would dissolve the ministry in an apparent attempt to woo male voters in their 20s. (Yonhap)