“The staff is also of the opinion that ‘this can’t go on.’ This is a situation where extraordinary measures are needed.” (Presidential Office official)
“President Yoon Seok-yeol’s approval rating has hit the ruling party’s psychological Maginot Line (20%). The moment the first digit reaches 1, it becomes difficult to argue that the direction of state affairs is right.” (People Power Party official)
On the 13th, a day before the Chuseok holiday, which is a watershed in shaping public sentiment, in a Gallup Korea opinion poll, President Yoon’s approval rating for state affairs was 20%, the lowest since the government took office, and ruling party officials said this.
The ruling party is in turmoil as President Yoon’s approval rating has hit its lowest in 2 years and 6 months since he was elected in the March 9, 2022 presidential election. Analysis has shown that the medical vacuum caused by the policy of expanding medical school admissions was a key factor in the decline in approval ratings. It was found that even those in their 70s, who had been the mainstay of his approval ratings, have turned their backs on him as the ruling party failed to provide a clear answer on resolving concerns about the medical vacuum until just before Chuseok, when demand for emergency rooms is expected to surge. Within the ruling party, there are concerns that “the medical vacuum issue was the trigger, but the decline in approval ratings has been a trend since before,” and “if the president does not show signs of change, he could really lose the momentum for state affairs.”
● Key factor in low support rate for medical gap
The opinion poll on this day clearly shows how sensitive the public is to the issue of medical vacancies. Respondents who gave a negative evaluation of President Yoon’s job performance cited the expansion of medical school quotas (18%) as the first reason. The policy of expanding medical school quotas was initially a positive factor in the opinion poll, but as the situation prolongs and the issue of medical vacancies spread, it has become the number one issue for negative evaluations since last week (the first week of September).
In fact, the age group where the decline in national approval ratings was most noticeable was the 70s and older age group, who felt the medical gap issue the most keenly. In the previous survey, the president’s approval rating was 45%, but in today’s survey, it fell 8 percentage points in just one week to 37%.
The problem is that there is no proper card to stop the decline in the president’s approval rating, which has been fueled by the medical gap issue. The Blue House is not at the stage of considering cards such as President Yoon’s apology or dismissal of ministers and vice ministers, as demanded by the opposition party and the medical community. A secretary at the Blue House said, “Can’t we put the brakes on the reform drive because of the approval rating?”
President Yoon presided over the ‘National Integration Committee Performance Report Meeting and 3rd Term Inauguration Ceremony’ on this day and said, “In order to fundamentally resolve the structural problems of our society, we are not backing down in the face of anti-reform resistance and are strongly pushing forward with the four major reforms of pensions, healthcare, education, and labor,” adding, “We will not stop the steps of reform.”
● Conservatives: 53% negative, 38% positive
There are also growing concerns that the president’s approval rating could fall below 20%. This is because not only the medical vacuum but also the issues with Mrs. Kim, President Yoon’s unilateral ruling style, and the sluggish economy are all linked together. In the survey that day, the second-highest negative evaluation of President Yoon was economy, people’s livelihood, and prices (12%), and the third-highest was lack of communication (10%).
A People Power Party official said, “Since former President Park Geun-hye first recorded a 10% approval rating, the decline in her approval rating has been unstoppable.” A serious issue within the ruling party is the loss of conservatives. In the opinion poll that day, conservatives’ disapproval rating of the president was 53%, 15% higher than her approval rating of 38%. Among conservatives, the approval rating (42%) dropped 4% compared to the previous week, while the disapproval rating (49%) rose 4%. An official from the presidential office said, “There are also internal arguments that a change in the overall governing style, such as the way she approaches the public and the direction of her message, is needed.”
In the survey that day, the approval rating of the People Power Party fell 3 percentage points from last week to 28%, while the approval rating of the Democratic Party of Korea rose 1 percentage point to 33%, widening the gap. A key ruling party official said, “I think this is an evaluation of our failure to properly follow public sentiment,” and “We will take it seriously.”
Reporter Kim Jun-il [email protected]
Reporter Hwang Hyeong-jun [email protected]
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2024-09-14 00:38:47