"From 'Wet Firewood' to 'Starting to Ignite' for Ahn Cheol-soo... Why Hong Joon-pyo's Evaluation Changed in a Month"

Ahn Cheol-soo's Approval Rating Steadily Rises... In 2 Weeks, Up from 7.5% to 12.9%

Hong Joon-pyo, member of the People Power Party./Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Hong Joon-pyo, a member of the People Power Party, gave a positive evaluation saying that the so-called "Anpung (安風)"?the recent rising trend in support for Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party?has "started to catch fire."

On the political communication platform "Dream of Youth," operated by Hong, a supporter asked on the 5th, calling it an "unexpected Anpung," "As the presidential election approaches, it seems like Anpung will blow stronger. Do you still see it as wet firewood?" In response, Hong replied, "It has started to catch fire."

Earlier, at the end of last year, Hong had a very different evaluation of candidate Ahn. On December 10th last year, when a supporter asked, "Charles hyung (candidate Ahn) is smart, righteous, and seems like a future-oriented figure, so why is he so unpopular in politics? What do you think, Junpyo hyung?" Hong replied, "Wet firewood."

Candidate Ahn’s approval ratings have recently shown a steady upward trend. In a public opinion poll commissioned by Money Today to Gallup Korea, conducted on the 3rd and 4th of this month among 1,001 adults aged 18 and over nationwide, candidate Ahn recorded 12.9%, ranking third behind Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate at 37.6%, and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate at 29.3%. This is a 5.4 percentage point increase from the previous survey (December 20-21 last year), which stood at 7.5%.

According to a survey conducted by Realmeter on behalf of YTN among 1,024 men and women aged 18 to 39 nationwide on the 3rd and 4th, candidate Ahn showed a support rate of 19.1%, 0.7 percentage points ahead of candidate Yoon, who recorded 18.4%.

Notably, in the 20s age group, candidate Ahn’s support rate surpasses that of candidate Yoon, drawing attention. Among those in their 20s, Ahn received 23.6%, while Yoon received 15.1%, a difference of 8.5 percentage points. However, in the 30s age group, candidate Yoon leads candidate Ahn by 8.1 percentage points, with 22.1% to 14.0%, respectively.

Meanwhile, candidate Ahn dismissed the "candidate unification theory." After attending the "2022 New Year Meeting of Small and Medium Business Owners" held at the Small and Medium Business Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 5th, he told reporters, "I came out to be the main player in regime change," and "I have no plans to meet separately with any other candidates." The public opinion poll results cited in the article can be referenced on the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.

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