[Column] Public Sentiment Was Cold... It's Time for the United Party to Show Results

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Public sentiment was cold toward the Democratic Party of Korea's 'legislative unilateralism.' After the overwhelming victory in the April 15 general election, the Democratic Party's rising momentum in approval ratings plummeted. In the Realmeter poll released on the 6th, the gap with the United Future Party narrowed to within just 0.8 percentage points. The public sentiment that created the '176 seats' super ruling party issued a stern warning to the ruling party in less than four months. The mood within the United Future Party is highly encouraged. However, it is not yet time to celebrate. For now, they have only gained a reflexive benefit from the government and ruling party's mistakes. It is a fragile approval rating that could collapse at any time.

Rep. Yoon Hee-sook's five-minute speech titled "I am a tenant" revealed the presence of the main opposition party for the first time in a while. This is also why the intra-party stance of parliamentary struggle, rather than the past style of street protests, is gaining strength within the United Future Party. In fact, before this speech, there were growing hardline voices within the party. However, after Rep. Yoon's remarks resonated, the atmosphere changed 180 degrees.

The United Future Party's message battle is certainly commendable, but there is still a long way to go. Regardless of the party's approval rating, Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl is rapidly emerging as the next presidential candidate for the opposition. The United Future Party must seriously acknowledge that public sentiment is gathering around Prosecutor General Yoon, not the main opposition party. Ultimately, the two figures, Rep. Yoon and Prosecutor General Yoon, reflect the current state of the United Future Party.

The United Future Party currently faces a golden opportunity. Now, messages and policies befitting the slogan of Kim Jong-in's Emergency Response Committee, 'Walking with the Weak,' must accompany this moment. Recently, Floor Leader Joo Ho-young criticized the government's real estate policy, calling it "communism," and at a debate hosted by United Future Party lawmakers, the '1948 Founding Theory' was raised again. Outdated anti-communism or market fundamentalism cannot be recognized as an alternative or governing party. Message management is becoming more important than ever.

On the 4th, Rep. Han Moo-kyung of the United Future Party referred to the party's predecessor, the Liberty Korea Party, in the National Assembly plenary session and urged the Democratic Party to take it as a lesson. Rep. Han said, "In the past, the Korea Party was arrogant and complacent," adding, "The Korea Party lacked empathy and was intoxicated by a 30% concrete approval rating, failing to govern for the majority of the people. Then it collapsed all at once." This advice is not only for the Democratic Party. The United Future Party must never forget those days. It is time to deeply reflect once again on the history of messages and street protests that failed to gain the empathy of the majority of the people.

According to a survey conducted by Realmeter commissioned by tbs from the 3rd to the 5th among 1,510 voters aged 18 and over nationwide (response rate 4.6%, sampling error ±2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level), the Democratic Party fell 2.7 percentage points from the previous week to 35.6%, while the United Future Party rose 3.1 percentage points to 34.8%. For detailed information, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

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