Crisis for the Justice Party... Internal and External Troubles Lead to Lowest Approval Rating in 2 Years

Party Approval Rating at 3.7%... Lower Than People's Party
Party Vote Intention Survey Also at 6.1%, Ranking 4th After People's Party
Support Decline Amid Controversy Over Proportional Representation and Successive Emergence of Pro-Government Satellite Parties

Ryu Ho-jeong, the number 1 proportional representative candidate of the Justice Party and Chair of the IT Industry Labor Special Committee, held a press conference on the morning of the 24th at the National Assembly Communication Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, to expose the labor conditions at the game company Pearl Abyss and to urge measures to protect the labor rights of young IT workers.
Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-young Hwang] The Justice Party is engulfed in internal and external crises ahead of the general election, heightening a sense of crisis.

The party’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest point in two years due to controversies over the backgrounds of candidates placed high on the proportional representation list and the successive emergence of satellite parties with pro-government leanings.

According to a survey conducted by Realmeter on behalf of YTN from the 16th to the 20th among 2,507 voters aged 18 and older nationwide (with a 95% confidence level and a sampling error of ±2 percentage points), released on the 23rd, the Justice Party’s approval rating stood at 3.7%.

This is the lowest figure since the third week of April 2018, when it recorded 3.9%.

Compared to the highest approval rating recorded after the passing of former lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan (based on Realmeter data), which was 14.3%, it has dropped by more than 10 percentage points.

The Justice Party’s approval rating is lower than that of the Democratic Party of Korea (42.1%), the United Future Party (33.6%), and even the People’s Party, which recorded 4%.

When asked about their intention to vote for a proportional representation party in the April 15 general election, 6.0% said they would vote for the Justice Party, down 1.2% from the previous week.

This figure is also lower than that of the People’s Party, led by Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo.

The People’s Party recorded 6.1%, up 0.7 percentage points from the previous week, ranking third.

The Justice Party had recorded 8.9% in a survey two weeks ago. (For more details, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.)

The decline in the Justice Party’s support is analyzed to be related to the successive emergence of pro-government proportional representation parties.

As the confrontation between progressives and conservatives intensifies, voters’ support is concentrating on the Democratic Party and the United Future Party.

Controversies over the backgrounds of candidates placed high on the Justice Party’s proportional representation list are also interpreted as having influenced the drop in approval ratings.

Candidate Ryu Ho-jeong, ranked first on the proportional representation list, is under pressure to resign due to a ‘proxy gaming controversy,’ and candidate Shin Jang-sik, ranked sixth, resigned after revelations of drunk driving and unlicensed driving offenses.

It was also revealed belatedly that Lee Eun-joo, ranked fifth and policy director of the Seoul Metro Labor Union, was reported for violating the Public Official Election Act.

The Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission judged that Lee, a union official, was not allowed to campaign under the Public Official Election Act and determined that there was a violation of the law prohibiting election campaigning by public officials and others during party primaries, leading to a report to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on November 5 last year.

There is an analysis that the Justice Party’s policy of favoring youth and women is ironically tying the party’s hands.

The proportional representation candidate selection method of the Justice Party, which gives excessive additional points to women and youth, has resulted in candidates whose qualifications and backgrounds have not been verified occupying the top spots on the proportional representation list.

A netizen who ‘liked’ the Justice Party analyzed, “The real core of the Justice Party’s crisis is that it has lost its identity of ‘justice.’”

They added, “Those who should bear heavy responsibility and actively work in the National Assembly are not being chosen, while many who should be gaining experience as aides or party officials are occupying electable positions. Under these circumstances, there do not seem to be many voters who will cast party votes for the Justice Party.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.