Jeong Cheong-rae mocks "Yoon, will withdraw if approval rating falls below 15%... Will he become Yuji?"

Jeong Cheong-rae, Democratic Party of Korea member. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Jeong Cheong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, predicted that Yoon Seok-yeol, the opposition presidential candidate and former Prosecutor General, would "declare withdrawal from the race if his approval rating falls below 15%."

On the 15th, Jeong posted on his Facebook under the title "Yoon Seok-yeol dropping... Will he become Yuji?" mocking, "Yoon Seok-yeol, who only trusted his approval rating. The rating is dropping sharply with no sign of improvement, what can be done?" The 'Yuji' mentioned by Jeong refers to the English notation 'member Yuji' used by Yoon's wife, Kim Gun-hee, in a 2007 paper published in the 'Korea Design Forum,' where the Korean phrase '회원 유지' (member maintenance) was rendered as 'member Yuji,' which Jeong ridiculed.

Jeong pointed out, "The more serious place is the People Power Party," adding, "Lee Jun-seok's risky missteps are worsening, and among the top 1, 2, 3, and 4 presidential candidates, there is not a single People Power Party candidate to be found, what can be done?"

He continued, "Despite Yoon Seok-yeol's declining approval ratings, early entry into the People Power Party has become difficult due to fear of Hong Joon-pyo," and said, "Even if the meaningless Choi Jae-hyung joins, Yoon's approval rating won't shift, leaving them flustered and trapped."

He predicted, "I forecast that Yoon Seok-yeol's approval rating will not easily fall below 15%, but if it does, he will declare withdrawal from the race," adding, "Yoon urgently needs to leave his faction rather than just the nuclear phase-out policy. Can he endure if he is scrutinized as much as he scrutinized Cho Kuk? Family Yuji is a more urgent matter than member Yuji." He also added, "Though he seems like a troublemaker now, pay attention to Hong Joon-pyo."

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, Realmeter, a public opinion research firm, surveyed 2,036 voters aged 18 and over nationwide in the second week of July on preferred presidential candidates. Yoon Seok-yeol's approval rating was 27.8%, down 4.5 percentage points from the fourth week of June.

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung rose 3.6 percentage points to 26.4%, and former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon increased 7.2 percentage points to 15.6%, showing an upward trend.

On the other hand, Yoon Seok-yeol has not expressed a clear stance regarding joining the People Power Party. After meeting with former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the same day, Yoon told reporters, "I clearly said that I will consistently follow the direction I have set, even if there is some political loss," avoiding a clear answer about party entry.

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