ED Declining approval ratings
Yoon should do his best to regain public's trust
The approval ratings of President Yoon Suk-yeol and his ruling People Power Party (PPP) have continued to fall for three consecutive weeks, according to recent Gallup Korea surveys. A poll conducted on 1,000 adults released July 1 showed only 43 percent of the respondents positively assessed Yoon's performance, down 10 percentage points in a month, while 42 percent viewed it negatively. The PPP's approval dropped to 40 percent from 45 percent.
The drop is dismal for Yoon as it came despite his brisk diplomatic activities during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit. Furthermore, the decline came less than two months after Yoon took office on May 10. Another survey by the Korea Society Opinion released June 27 even revealed the disapproval rating ― 47.4 percent ― surpassed the approval rating of 46.8 percent.
On Monday, Yoon snubbed the survey results as “holding no significance.” Yet the decline is serious enough as it is lower than the 48.56 percent vote he garnered in the March 9 presidential election. He pledged to push for reforms in five major areas ― labor, pension, education, finance and services ― to enhance the nation's sustainable growth.
For this, he needs a wide range of public support. The Yoon administration deserves acclaim for the reform agendas. Yet, it could face strong resistance from different interest groups to his reform drive amid his approval rating being just slightly over 40 percent. For reform to succeed, it is necessary to muster support from opponents. However, Yoon will likely face, with low approval ratings, repercussions along with divisions in public opinions and escalating conflicts.
Yoon and his administration also face overwhelming challenges such as runaway inflation, soaring energy prices and other downside risks resulting from the drawn-out war in Ukraine and the growing U.S.-China rivalry. Rising consumer prices will effectively reduce individual income coupled with a tumble in the prices of assets such as stocks, real estate and cryptocurrencies. All these could lead to a further drop in Yoon's approval ratings.
Yoon is taking flak for nominating and appointing inappropriate figures as Cabinet members. He cannot avoid criticism for his reckless appointment style, preferring graduates from Seoul National University and former prosecutors, most of whom are males in their 50s. On Monday, he appointed Park Soon-ae as education minister, who was caught drunk driving and found to have violated research ethics, without having a confirmation hearing due to opposition parties' objection.
PPP lawmakers have been criticized for engaging in internal power struggles between its leader Lee Jun-seok and his opponents. Besides, Lee cannot exercise his leadership properly as he was referred to a disciplinary committee for allegedly being provided sexual services through a businessman. Yoon and the PPP should recognize the seriousness of the situation and do all they can to regain the public's trust.