Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Poll finds more Koreans oppose than support Cho Kuk pardon
Cho Kuk, center, former leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, greets supporters after being released from Seoul Southern Detention Center in Guro District, Seoul, after a Liberation Day special pardon, Friday. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
President Lee’s approval rating drops to 59% amid controversy
A recent poll shows that public opinion remains deeply divided over the special pardon granted to Cho Kuk, former leader of the minor liberal Rebuilding Korea Party, on Liberation Day, with opposition outweighing support.
Announced by President Lee Jae Myung on Monday, the pardon restored Cho’s political rights upon his release at midnight on Friday.
A Gallup Korea survey of 1,007 adults nationwide, conducted for three days starting Tuesday, found that 43 percent supported Cho’s pardon, while 48 percent opposed it. Nine percent withheld their judgement.
By age group, support was highest among people in their 40s at 58 percent and those in their 50s at 59 percent.
However, among young people aged 18 to 29, 50 percent were against the pardon. Of those in their 30s, 62 percent were opposed, while among people in their 60s, 54 percent opposed. For those aged 70 or older, 56 percent were opposed.
Politically, 72 percent of progressives supported the pardon, while 75 percent of conservatives opposed it. Among moderates, half opposed the pardon compared to 43 percent who supported it, and unaffiliated voters opposed it by a wide margin of 63 percent to 20 percent.
In the same survey, Lee’s approval rating stood at 59 percent, down 5 percentage points from the middle of July. Meanwhile, disapproval rose 7 percentage points to 30 percent.
The main reason for negative ratings was the “special pardon” at 22 percent, overtaking “excessive welfare spending” from the previous month. The most common reason for positive assessments was “economic and livelihood policies” at 15 percent, followed by “overall good performance” and “communication efforts.”
Party support ratings also shifted. Support for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea fell by 5 percentage points to 41 percent, while support for the main opposition People Power Party increased by 3 percentage points to 22 percent. The Rebuilding Korea Party and the Reform Party each recorded 3 percent, while the Progressive Party recorded 1 percent.
The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, with a response rate of 13.4 percent. Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission’s website.