Lee Nak-yeon on Poll Ratings Reversal: "Accumulated Outcome... Rising Real Estate Prices Also a Factor"

Democratic Party 33.4% vs United Party 36.5%... First Approval Rating Reversal Since 'Park Geun-hye Impeachment' Phase

Lee Nak-yeon, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, is speaking after receiving a report on the flood situation at Juksan Township Office in Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, on the afternoon of the 4th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 13th, Rep. Lee Nak-yeon, who is challenging for the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea, analyzed the party's approval rating being overtaken by the United Future Party by saying, "We did well in COVID-19 quarantine measures, but employment indicators did not improve and the economy did not recover. In addition, the rise in real estate prices and the expansion of relative deprivation were the reasons."

On the same day, Rep. Lee appeared on CBS Radio's 'Sisa Jaki with Jung Kwan-yong' and said, "Although this is the first time the (approval rating) reversal has appeared, it should be seen as cumulative rather than sudden."

He said, "In certain areas of Seoul, real estate prices rose, but in the provinces, they fell, and there was such a sense of deprivation, so there must have been criticism about why it was not handled properly. It is also true that there were inappropriate behaviors and remarks among members of the Democratic Party. On top of that, there was a deluge of rain causing chaos here and there. These are the cumulative results," he evaluated.

Regarding inappropriate behaviors and remarks by party members, Rep. Lee pointed out, "The mistakes of the Seoul and Busan mayors were significant," adding, "For example, some party members make comments like critics about jeonse and monthly rent. This is seen as insufficient in understanding the feelings of the people suffering from housing issues."

These remarks appear to point to the series of sexual misconduct scandals involving party members such as former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don and the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. It is also interpreted as criticism of recent remarks by Rep. Yoon Joon-byung of the Democratic Party, who said, "The shift from jeonse to monthly rent is not a bad phenomenon."

When asked by the host if there is a secret plan to raise approval ratings, Rep. Lee said, "We have to try. Usually, approval ratings do not easily rise like during elections," and added, "If the factors that lowered the approval ratings are resolved, I believe it can recover steadily."

Meanwhile, according to a weekday survey conducted by Realmeter on 1,507 adults nationwide from the 10th to the 12th commissioned by TBS, the Democratic Party's approval rating dropped 1.7 percentage points from the previous week to 33.4%, while the United Future Party rose 1.9 percentage points to 36.5%.

The gap between the two parties' support is 3.1 percentage points, which is within the margin of error, but the United Future Party surpassed the Democratic Party for the first time since its founding. The margin of error for this survey is ±2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

In particular, this is the first time since October 2016, during the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, that a conservative party has overtaken the Democratic Party in approval ratings. For more details, refer to the Realmeter or the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission websites.

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