Moon's approval rating remains solid despite Sohn Hye-won scandal

Rep. Sohn Hye-won, center, waves to her supporters before holding a press conference in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, Wednesday. / Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating dropped slightly this week despite a growing controversy over former Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmaker Sohn Hye-won's involvement in possible property speculation, according to a poll released Thursday.

In the poll conducted by Realmeter, 47.7 percent of respondents approved of Moon's performance as president, down only 1.4 percentage points from a week earlier. The survey was run from Monday through Wednesday, on 1,508 adults nationwide.

Meanwhile, the DPK's approval rating dropped only one percentage point to 38.3 percent.

The results show the scandal surrounding Sohn barely affected public support for Moon and the ruling party. She quit the party after being accused of playing a key role in speculative property investments in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, by mobilizing her relatives and aides to act on insider information.

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), meanwhile, gained 1.7 percentage points to 26 percent. This was due to key conservative figures returning to the political arena for the LKP's leadership race, according to some observers.

Critics say Sohn is likely attracting support from people after the LKP went all-out to raise suspicions against her and called for a thorough investigation into her connection with first lady Kim Jung-sook, calling it a political scandal. The LKP has set up a taskforce to investigate her alleged wrongdoings.

Sohn held a press conference Wednesday where she claimed innocence, citing her intent to donate her entire collection of traditional lacquerware to the local government in the future. She then announced Thursday that she had received 150 million won, the annual donation limit for a lawmaker, from her supporters.

Critics say the support for her was ironically inspired by the opposition camp's move to tie Sohn and the President. A political expert said when it is hard to find concrete evidence to prove the truth, in some cases, the number of hardline supporters of the lawmaker increases while fighting media outlets.