Despite 'Recording Scandal' Setback, Yoon's Approval Rating Rises... Jin Joong-kwon Says "MBC Saved Yoon Seok-yeol"

Yoon Seok-yeol, Lee Jae-myung Narrowly Overtake Within Margin of Error
Jin Joong-kwon "Why Bring Up Forgotten Swearing Recordings Again"

Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon criticized the recording report targeting Kim Geon-hee, the spouse of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon said, "It seems certain that MBC saved Yoon Seok-yeol, if not the country itself." Earlier, MBC's current affairs program 'Straight' reported part of a recorded phone conversation between Kim Gun-hee, spouse of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, and a YouTube media reporter.

On the 23rd, Professor Jin expressed regret on Facebook, saying, "The candidate most disadvantaged by negative campaigning bravely went all-in on negativity," and questioned, "Why bring up the already forgotten abusive language recording again (referring to Kim's recording)?" This statement is interpreted as considering that despite the controversy over Kim's recording, Yoon's approval rating has overtaken Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate, within the margin of error.

In fact, voters appear to view Lee's so-called 'brother-in-law abusive language' as a bigger negative factor than Kim's recording. According to a public opinion poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the Korea Economic Daily from the 20th to the 22nd, 64.8% of respondents answered "Yes (or strongly agree)" to the question, "Do you think the release of Lee's voice recording will negatively affect his approval rating?" Only 29.3% answered "No (or strongly disagree)."

On the other hand, when asked, "Do you think the release of the phone recording of Yoon's wife Kim will negatively affect Yoon's approval rating?" 56.8% responded "Yes (or strongly agree)," while 40.1% responded "No (or strongly disagree)." Compared to the same survey conducted a month ago (December 27 of last year), Yoon's rating rose by 1.9 percentage points, while Lee's dropped by 1.0 percentage point.

The same survey also showed Yoon leading Lee within the margin of error. Yoon received 39.4% support, surpassing Lee's 36.8% by 2.6 percentage points, reversing the standings within the margin of error. For more details, please refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

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