Democratic Party's Approval Rating Plummets, Will They Join Hands with the Opposition?

Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the 6th, talking with Cho Jung-sik, chairman of the policy committee. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The Democratic Party of Korea is showing signs of a shift in its stance, extending a hand to the opposition. This comes amid growing criticism of 'legislative unilateralism' and a sharp decline in the party's approval ratings.

According to a Realmeter poll conducted from the 3rd to the 7th (commissioned by YTN, with 2,520 respondents, a response rate of 4.5%, and a margin of error of ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level; detailed information is available on the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website), the Democratic Party's approval rating dropped by 3.2 percentage points from the previous week to 35.1%, while the United Party's rating rose by 2.9 percentage points to 34.6%. The gap of 0.5 percentage points is the smallest since the founding of the United Party.

In particular, the daily approval ratings showed that the United Party briefly surpassed the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party experienced notable defections among people in their 30s and 40s and women, which is interpreted as a signal that even the party's core support base has turned away.

The ruling party's decline in approval ratings is largely attributed to criticism over 'unilateral legislation related to real estate.' Therefore, there are expectations that the Democratic Party will seek cooperation from opposition parties and adjust the pace when pushing forward reform legislation in the future.

In fact, on the 6th, Kim Tae-nyeon, the Democratic Party floor leader, reportedly apologized to Joo Ho-young, the United Party floor leader, during a dinner meeting regarding the forced passage of real estate-related bills. Kim said, "I am sorry," explaining, "Real estate prices are soaring, and with little time left in the July extraordinary session, we had no choice but to act urgently." He added, "I apologize for the procedural shortcomings and will ensure such things do not happen again."

Within the party, calls for 'speed control' on reform legislation are also emerging. A Democratic Party official stated, "We must acknowledge that public opinion now is clearly different from that during the general election," and emphasized, "Rather than pushing through by force, we need to continue dialogue with the opposition in the spirit of cooperation."

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