'Real Estate·Yoon Hee-sook' Boosts United Party Approval Rating, 0.8%p Gap with Democratic Party

Realmeter Poll Rises 3.1%p to 34.8%, Highest Since Party Founding
Democratic Party Falls 2.7%p... Also Trailed by United Party in Seoul
Opposition to Administrative Capital and Real Estate Measures, Plus Yoon Hee-sook's 5-Minute Speech Impact

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Kang Nahum and Lim Chunhan] The United Future Party's approval rating has reached its highest point since its founding, closing in on the Democratic Party by a mere 0.8 percentage points. Recent controversies over the government's and ruling party's real estate supply measures in the Seoul metropolitan area, as well as the "Yoon Heesook 5-minute speech" phenomenon, appear to have influenced the fluctuations in both parties' approval ratings.

According to a poll conducted by Realmeter on behalf of tbs from the 3rd to the 5th, the party support ratings were recorded on the 6th as follows: the Democratic Party dropped 2.7 percentage points from the previous week's aggregate to 35.6%, while the United Future Party rose 3.1 percentage points to 34.8%.

The Democratic Party ended its two-week rise and reversed into a decline. Support increased in Gwangju and Jeolla regions and among those in their 50s, but decreased in Daegu and Gyeongbuk (TK), Busan and Gyeongnam (PK), and Gyeonggi and Incheon areas. Declines also continued among women, and those in their 30s and 40s.

Conversely, the United Future Party recorded its highest approval rating since its founding. The previous peak was 33.7% in the third week of February, shortly after the party's establishment. Support for the United Future Party increased in PK and TK regions, among women, those in their 60s and 70s and older, and centrist voters.

The gap between the two parties also hit a historic low. The previous smallest gap was 4.3 percentage points, recorded in the third week of July (Democratic Party 35.3% vs. United Future Party 31.0%).

Notably, the United Future Party leading the Democratic Party in the Seoul region is a point of interest. The Democratic Party's support in Seoul was 34.9%, while the United Future Party's was 37.1%. This marks the second consecutive week the United Future Party has led in Seoul, following a reversal after nine months last week.

The United Future Party's strong performance is largely attributed to the ruling party's various real estate policies, such as the "administrative capital relocation" and the three lease laws, failing to gain favor among Seoul voters and instead provoking backlash amid soaring real estate prices. Above all, the "Yoon Heesook lawmaker's 5-minute plenary speech" appears to have had a significant impact. On the 30th of last month, Yoon's speech, which began with "I am a tenant," was praised for effectively pointing out the side effects of the three lease laws without resorting to harsh language or shouting.

Seemingly aiming to maintain this momentum, the United Future Party immediately plunged into public welfare activities as soon as the July extraordinary session of the National Assembly ended. The party leadership and affiliated lawmakers visited flood-affected areas the day before to kick off their public welfare efforts. This is interpreted as a move to continue the "Yoon Heesook syndrome" with a faster response than the Democratic Party.

Emergency Response Committee Chairman Kim Jongin, floor leader Joo Ho-young, and Policy Committee Chairman Lee Jongbae visited heavily flood-damaged central regions such as Icheon in Gyeonggi, Chungju and Danyang in Chungbuk the day before to engage in volunteer activities. They assessed the damage to crops and the recovery status of farms caused by the floods and met with affected residents to listen to their grievances. Floor leader Joo took on the role of team leader at the flood recovery site.

Especially benefiting from the "Yoon Heesook effect," the United Future Party plans to focus on public opinion campaigns going forward. Chairman Kim told reporters after the emergency committee meeting, "In a situation where the ruling party holds an absolute majority of seats, resistance by a party with a minority of seats inevitably has limitations," adding, "There is no other way but for individual lawmakers to properly point out the realities through discussion processes so that the public can be informed."

Meanwhile, this survey contacted 33,057 voters aged 18 and over nationwide, with 1,510 completing the response, recording a response rate of 4.6%. The sampling error is ±2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more details, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

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