President’s rising approval ratings work against opposition
DPK’s criticism of Yoon, first lady loses momentum
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s rising job approval ratings in recent weeks are bolstering the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and undermining the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s (DPK) strategy ahead of the upcoming general elections on April 10, which sought to exploit public dissatisfaction surrounding the president and his wife.
According to a Gallup Korea poll released on Friday, 39 percent of respondents positively assessed Yoon’s performance as the president, remaining flat from a week earlier.
In Gallup Korea polls, Yoon’s approval rating plummeted to 29 percent in the first week of February but climbed steadily to 39 percent by the end of that month. Since July 2022, his approval ratings in the pollster’s weekly surveys have consistently remained below 40 percent.
Along with Gallup Korea, other polls showed similar trajectories, showing that public sentiment is becoming favorable for Yoon. Since his inauguration in May 2022, Yoon has faced skepticism about his presidency, widely perceived as a risk to the ruling PPP’s campaigns for the general elections.
The rise is attributable to the public’s support of Yoon’s unwavering stance against doctors’ protests over a government plan to expand enrollment quotas at medical schools. Despite sustained walkouts by trainee doctors, Yoon has remained steadfast in pursuing the policy, citing the need to enhance public access to medical services.
According to the latest Gallup Korea poll, among the 393 respondents who approved of Yoon’s job performance, 28 percent expressed agreement with the medical school quota hike plan. Additionally, 9 percent cited support for Yoon due to his perceived “steadfast” manner.
Political analysts are also saying that Yoon’s recent nationwide town hall meetings are playing a significant role in positively influencing his approval ratings. By introducing policies tailored to regional interests and maintaining a distance from partisan conflicts in the lead-up to the general elections, Yoon is garnering support from diverse sectors of the population.
Since the beginning of this year, Yoon held 18 town hall meetings nationwide. Throughout these gatherings, he unveiled a range of policies spanning multiple sectors, including proposals to ease development restrictions on vast areas adjacent to military facilities, streamline the construction of new airports, and broaden scholarship opportunities for college students.
The main opposition party accuses Yoon of implementing populist measures to win over voters. However, this criticism does not seem to be resonating with the electorate, as Yoon’s popularity remains unaffected.
“The job approval rating is bound to go up if the president keeps his distance from partisan politics. Who can hate a president who pays attention to your daily lives and regional issues?” said Park Sang-byeong, a political commentator and professor at Inha University.
But Yoon’s rising approval ratings are proving to be detrimental to the DPK, as they undermine the main opposition party’s strategy of using public dissatisfaction with Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, as a focal point of its election campaign.
Until early February, the DPK focused its campaign efforts on amplifying allegations of stock manipulation involving the first lady and Yoon’s veto on a special counsel investigation into those suspicions.
However, this approach proved unsuccessful as the DPK’s internal factional disputes over candidate nominations took precedence, drawing the attention of lawmakers and the public alike. During a Feb. 29 plenary session, a bill on the special counsel probe was put to a second vote but was scrapped after a failing to garner the required two-thirds majority approval from attending lawmakers. That also did not affect Yoon’s approval ratings.
“Criticism directed towards the first lady and Yoon has been ongoing, and the issue of the special counsel probe has lost its novelty among the public due to the lack of updates and its perceived lack of impact on their daily lives,” a ruling bloc official said.
“Yoon’s rising approval ratings are meaningful because they are weakening the logic of the main opposition.”
Friday’s Gallup Korea poll surveyed 1,000 voters from Tuesday to Thursday with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission’s website.