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| President Moon Jae-in takes off his mask before speaking at the eighth Emergency Economic Council meeting in Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. Support rates for Moon and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea have dropped largely among young people and men, widely seen as a result of influence-peddling allegations surrounding Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae over her son's military service. Yonhap |
By Jung Da-min
The growing allegations surrounding Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae over her son's military service are beginning to affect the approval ratings for President Moon Jae-in and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), as support for the President and the party has dropped significantly among men and the younger generation.
In a poll of 1,504 adults conducted by Realmeter from Monday to Wednesday, 45.7 percent of the respondents believed Moon was doing a good job, down 2.4 percentage points from a week before, while 49.5 percent disapproved of his job performance, an increase of 1.4 percentage points.
The decline was large among people in their 20s, whose support for Moon dropped by 5.7 percentage points; among men, by 9 percentage points; and among students, 10.7 percentage points.
Political watchers attributed the fall to growing public criticism over the allegations that Choo abused her power as head of the ruling party to help her son receive preferential treatment during his mandatory military service years ago, because the declines mainly came from groups sensitive to military issues. All able-bodied men are required to complete around two years of military service, with the majority electing to serve in their 20s, many of them while students.
The decline was similar in the approval rating for the DPK, which fell to 33.7 percent, down 4.1 percentage points from a week before. The larger drops were also found among men, 8.9 percentage points down; among students, 6.5 percentage points down; and among those in their 50s whose children are in the age group for military duty, 11.1 percentage points down.
Choo's influence-peddling scandal is snowballing, with opposition lawmakers disclosing military documents and testimonies against her.
Although Choo denied the allegations, young people in Korea are growing increasingly angry over a series of scandals involving children of powerful political figures of the ruling bloc. Choo's predecessor Cho Kuk was also embroiled in allegations that he helped his children gain admission to prestigious universities; he stepped down from the minister post shortly after.
Young people raised questions about the fairness heralded by President Moon, as the former and incumbent justice ministers were damaging the spirit of equality, fairness and justice, which the Moon government has pledged to pursue since its inauguration.
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