Yoon, Unwavering in Approval Ratings... Meets Professor Choi Jang-jip to Expand Progressive Base

Despite Recent Polling Decline,
"A Process of On-Site Analysis to Develop Policies and Promises"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] Yoon Seok-yeol, the leading opposition presidential candidate and former Prosecutor General, is finding 'his own path' despite a decline in approval ratings. It is interpreted that less than two weeks after his political declaration, he is focusing on principled actions aimed at an 'overwhelming regime change' rather than on approval ratings.

On the 14th, Cookie News commissioned Hangil Research to survey 1,001 voters nationwide aged 18 and over from the 10th to the 12th (sampling error 95%, confidence level ±3.1 percentage points). Among opposition candidates, Yoon's approval rating was 27.6%. In the survey conducted by the same organization last month, Yoon's approval rating was in the 36.0% range, showing a slight decline. For detailed survey outlines, please refer to the Hangil Research or the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission websites.

Yoon plans to continue on-site activities meeting and listening to various people to prepare policies and pledges without being obsessed with approval ratings. A member of Yoon's campaign said, "Analysis and diagnosis are necessary to create policies," adding, "In that process, he is taking his own course, and that principle remains unchanged." However, he said they would seek improvements regarding issues repeatedly pointed out through media reports.

On the same day, Yoon attached an article related to Kim Heon-dong, head of the Real Estate and Construction Reform Headquarters at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), whom he recently met, on his Facebook and pointed out, "Real estate policy is a matter of protecting each individual's housing rights and future from the control of vested interest cartels, upholding the constitutional spirit." He added, "We will listen carefully to the voices of experts, stakeholders, and the public who have diverse views on detailed policies and derive policies that can restore hope."

Source= Captured from Yoon Seok-yeol, former Prosecutor General's Facebook

Recently, Yoon also started expanding his outreach by meeting with Choi Jang-jip, an elder in progressive political science and professor emeritus at Korea University. On the 12th, Yoon met with Professor Choi to discuss "Diagnosis and Solutions for the Crisis of Korean Democracy." At the meeting, Yoon said, "There is a misunderstanding that liberal democracy is for winners and the social elite," adding, "Winner-takes-all is absolutely not liberal democracy. The concentration of presidential power seriously undermines the basic constitutional principles of separation of powers and the rule of law." Professor Choi stated, "Korean liberalism has been abandoned like a lost child, not properly accepted by conservatives and rejected by progressives," and suggested, "Since the Candlelight Protests, conservatives have lost hegemonic ideological influence. In this vacant space, conservatives can be rebuilt as a force representing the structure of state and social relations that worship liberalism." He added, "It should start as a task to fill the gap of liberal pluralism," and "Efforts to create conditions for consensus should be prioritized. Empty rhetoric about cooperation is hollow."

Meanwhile, regarding former spokesperson Lee Dong-hoon's remark that "a ruling party figure told Y to hit Y," Yoon stated, "Although fact-checking is still needed, if this is true, it is ‘political manipulation’ that undermines constitutional values, ‘election interference’ using investigative authority, and ‘judicial bargaining.’" He demanded "a thorough investigation and strict punishment for those involved."

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