Major parties see approval ratings dip amid controversies

Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung, center, bows during a party meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday, as he apologizes in response to allegations of bribery during the party's 2021 national convention. Yonhap

DPK engulfed in bribery scandal, PPP suffers from infighting

By Nam Hyun-woo

The popularity of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) have both entered a downward spiral as infighting continues and a bribery scandal draws the public's ire.

The DPK is now struggling with fresh allegations that political funds were inappropriately dished out to members during the party's national convention in 2021, forcing Chairman Lee Jae-myung to make a public apology.

On the other hand, the PPP faces criticism over infighting between its leadership and a party heavyweight over the handling of a right-wing pastor's attempt to peddle influence. The ruling party is also being denounced for the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's "low-key" stance on reports that the U.S. spied on Korean government officials.

During a party meeting, Monday, the DPK chairman apologized for causing public concern over growing suspicions that envelopes containing cash were delivered to DPK lawmakers and party members as bribes ahead of the 2021 national convention, where it elected then-Chairman Song Young-gil.

"The entire picture of this case remains undetermined, but I believe the party needs to clarify our position," Lee said. "The DPK will spare no efforts to find the truth and address the aftermath and we have requested Song, who is now staying in Paris, to return home."

Prosecutors are investigating suspicions that a total of 94 million won ($71,700) was dished out to DPK members to help Song win the chairmanship. Prosecutors and investigators have raided the homes and offices of Reps. Youn Kwan-suk and Lee Sung-man, who worked in Song's election camp, for their alleged involvement in distributing the money collected from regional businesspeople.

The allegations have triggered criticism in and outside of the party.

DPK Rep. Lee Sang-min said in a radio interview with broadcaster SBS, "This rotten and hideous scandal has left me speechless," while DPK Rep. Lee Won-wook said in a separate interview with broadcaster BBS, "The DPK should understand that this issue is serious enough to disband the party."

The ruling PPP echoed the allegations that the DPK now faces a "twin risk" due to its current and former chairmen's actions.

"During the convention, Song was supported by lawmakers close to current Chairman Lee, and the chairman succeeded Song's constituency after being defeated in the presidential election last year," PPP Rep. Cho Su-jin said. "This is nothing more than a twin risk involving the current and former chairmen."

Ruling People Power Party Chairman Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon speaks during a party meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

On the other hand, the PPP has been suffering from infighting between heavyweights over some party members' alleged relations with Jeon Kwang-hoon, a pastor of Saranag Jeil Church who has created a slew of controversies due to far-right political remarks.

Of them, PPP Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won apologized for his remarks that Jeon had "brought the whole right-wing under him."

Despite the apologies, some PPP members, including Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, who was a presidential candidate in 2017 and still wields influence in the party as a heavyweight, criticized the ruling party's leadership and urged Chairman Kim Gi-hyeon to punish the Supreme Council member.

However, the PPP chairman instead dismissed Hong from the party's standing advisor post, saying "some of the party members are crossing the line with their excessive political offensives."

On Sunday, Hong wrote on Facebook, "The biggest threat to the (PPP's) general election campaign is risks stemming from the party leadership."

"After the party's national convention in March, its top priority was keeping a distance from ultra-conservative groups, but it is failing to handle those who played a role of linking the extremists with the party," Hong wrote.

Against this backdrop, the gap between the approval ratings of the PPP and the DPK has been widening further.

According to a Realmeter poll released Monday, the approval rating of the PPP stood at 33.9 percent, down 3.1 percentage points from a week earlier.

This resulted in the ruling party trailing behind the DPK by 14.9 percentage points, which was far wider than the poll's margin of error of plus-minus 2 percentage points.

"The party's internal conflict seems to be reaching the peak, after a series of controversial remarks from its leadership in handling the pastor, and the subsequent dismissal of the Daegu mayor from his standing advisor post at the party," an analyst at the pollster said.

During the same period, the DPK's approval rating inched up by 2.9 percentage points to 48.8 percent, but analysts said the party is benefiting from the PPP's infighting, rather than gaining more support from the public.

"This should not be interpreted as support for the DPK, because the party also does not deserve any approval" said Park Sang-byeong, a professor at Inha University's Graduate School of Policy Science. "Rather, the public disappointment over the Yoon administration's diplomatic controversies and the PPP's infighting are being expressed as an increase in the DPK's approval rating."

Park said the ongoing cash envelope scandal is still not gaining greater public attention, as it is in its early stage, but this may deliver "a direct hit" against the DPK chairman if he fails to take firm measures against the allegations.

Meanwhile, the Realmeter poll showed that the president's job approval rating stood at 33.6 percent, down 2.8 percentage points from a week earlier, plunging to the lowest level in six months. The pollster attributed the downtrend to controversies that his office was the target of wiretapping by U.S. intelligence.

The poll surveyed 2,506 adults from April 10 to 14 at the request of Media Tribune. Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission's website.