ED Anger toward President

Continued policy failures bring down Moon's approval

President Moon Jae-in's job approval rating has hit the lowest since he took office in May 2017.

Various reports show the public is getting increasingly frustrated with the Moon administration. A Gallup poll released last week showed that 46 percent of the respondents gave a negative assessment of the President's job performance while 44 percent thought he was doing a good job. It should be noted that there were more people giving bad reviews that good ones.

In a Realmeter poll, more than 50 percent gave a negative response to the President's job performance. The survey showed that even people in the southeastern Gyeongsang provinces, a traditional stronghold of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, are starting to turning their backs on the President. People in their 30s, who were favorable about the Moon administration in the past, are also starting to disapprove of the President.

The noticeable decline in the President's approval rating stokes concerns of a lame duck presidency as Moon has entered the third year of his job with not much to show for it.

The latest surveys showed the biggest reason for their disapproval of the President was his administration's insufficient response to issues closely related to the people's livelihoods, such as the job crisis. The people are also angry that the Moon administration's North Korea policy has been causing rifts with the U.S.

The President's untimely focus on North Korea at a time of grave economic crisis is one of the main reasons for the growing public anger toward the President. The main opposition Liberty Korea Party's floor leader Rep. Na Kyung-won has emerged at the center of controversy for calling the President a “chief spokesperson” for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. While Na's remarks are completely inappropriate, it does reflect the sentiment of the increasing number of Koreans who are displeased with Moon's North Korea policy.

Despite the collapse of the U.S.-North Korea talks, President Moon has shown his eagerness for economic cooperation with the North. This goes against the U.S. position that sanctions against North Korea must be maintained firmly until Pyongyang takes concrete steps toward denuclearization. Many people believe Korea must be on the same page with the U.S. at all times when dealing with North Korea and slow down the pace of economic projects.

Cheong Wa Dae's problematic choices for key posts in the Moon administration have also resulted in the people's disappointment in the President. Recently, Moon conducted a major cabinet reshuffle, but as in the past, many of the nominees turned out to have flaws in their personal or professional backgrounds, reflecting Cheong Wa Dae's dysfunctional appointment process and lack of sincerity to significantly improve policy outcomes. For example, many people agree the President's nominee for minister of unification, Kim Yeon-chul, who has been a proponent of lifting sanctions against North Korea, does not seem to be the right choice at this point.

The third year has always turned out to be difficult for past presidents. Moon should reflect on the shortcomings of his administration and try to fix them before it's too late. Otherwise an early lame duck status will be inevitable.