"Economic pledges not breaking through"... Lee Jae-myung struggles to escape the box range

Social Service Transformation, Creation of 3 Million Jobs
5% Point Increase in Youth Employment Rate During Term

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Koo Chae-eun, Jeon Jin-young] On the 18th, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, unveiled economic pledges including 'improving youth employment rate by 5 percentage points during the term,' 'raising 50 trillion won for the K-Vision Fund,' 'venture investment scale of 10 trillion won,' and 'creating 3 million jobs.' This came just a week after announcing an economic pledge on the 11th to 'invest 135 trillion won to create 2 million digital transformation jobs.'

Amid fluctuating recent poll results and a fierce contest, this strategy is interpreted as an effort to solidify the image of an 'economy and livelihood-focused president' to achieve a golden cross. Following the pledge announcement, Lee has consecutively attended meetings with the Federation of Medium-Sized Enterprises and the New Year's ceremony of the Federation of Small Businesses, strengthening ties with the economic sector. At a party press conference that day, Lee said, "We will create a virtuous cycle between the economy and jobs to achieve economic growth that makes the people happy."

Recently, Lee's approval ratings have failed to break out of stagnation. After overcoming internal conflicts within the election campaign committee, Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, reversed the situation with a 'tailored strategy for young men in their 20s,' rendering Lee's series of policy moves ineffective. According to a poll conducted by Embrain Public on behalf of JoongAng Ilbo from the 15th to 16th among 1,006 men and women aged 18 and over nationwide, Yoon's support rate was 35.9%, and Lee's was 33.4%, competing within the margin of error. Compared to the previous poll in the fifth week of December, Lee's support rate dropped by 6.0 percentage points, while Yoon's rose by 5.9 percentage points. Ahn also recorded 15.6%, up 5.5 percentage points from the previous poll (conducted via wired and wireless telephone interviews using wireless phone numbers and virtual mobile numbers, with a 95% confidence level margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points, and a response rate of 17.1%).

On the same day, Democratic Party lawmaker Jung Sung-ho appeared on the radio and said, "Since less than a month remains from after Seollal (Lunar New Year) to the official election campaign period, the public opinion formed around Seollal will likely continue until the presidential election," adding, "There are still many undecided voters, and both candidates from the ruling and opposition parties have high unfavorable ratings, so I believe that Lee, who has excellent policy capabilities and drive, will surpass the 40% support rate."

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