President Yoon Shows No Sense of Crisis Despite 'Public Sentiment Warning'

Negative Ratings for 2 Weeks, Yet "Support Rate Means Nothing"
On Criticism of "Inappropriate Personnel," "Have You Seen Any Excellent Ministers in the Previous Administration?"
Opposition: "The People Decide Support Rates, So Saying You Don't Care Is Contradictory"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is answering questions from reporters as he arrives at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul on the morning of the 4th. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] President Yoon Seok-yeol's approval rating is showing unusual signs. Despite being less than two months into his honeymoon period after inauguration and having events like overseas trips that could have sparked a rebound, the downward trend continues. In this situation, President Yoon has been criticized for ignoring the public's warning by saying, "Approval ratings don't mean much."

According to a survey conducted by Realmeter from May 27 to June 1 (the 5th week of June) targeting 2,514 people nationwide aged 18 and over (with a sampling error of ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level; for more details, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website), 44.4% responded that President Yoon is "doing well in state affairs," while 50.2% responded that he is "doing poorly." The gap between positive and negative evaluations is 5.8 percentage points, which is outside the margin of error.

Although there were diplomatic events such as President Yoon's visit to Spain to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from June 27 to 30, it appears these did not positively affect his approval rating. The 'dead cross' phenomenon, where negative evaluations surpass positive ones, was also observed in the previous 4th week of June survey by the same organization.

However, President Yoon showed a reaction indicating he does not pay much attention to approval ratings. On the morning of the 4th, while heading to the Yongsan Presidential Office, he said, "I did not pay much attention to approval ratings even during elections. They don't mean much." He added, "Anyway, what I do is for the people, so I only have the mindset to think of the people and work hard."

This has drawn criticism in political circles for ignoring public sentiment. The question is whether one can disregard public opinion poll results, which are indicators showing the flow of public sentiment, while claiming to think of the people. Former Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Min-hee appeared on KBS Radio's 'Joo Jin-woo Live' and said, "(President Yoon's) claim that he doesn't care much about approval ratings and only thinks of the people is a contradiction in terms. Because it is the people who determine approval ratings," adding, "I think it's because he feels so bad and hurt."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is presenting the appointment letter to Park Soon-ae, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the morning of the 5th. Photo by Yonhap News

One of the reasons for President Yoon's declining approval rating is personnel issues. From the formation of the presidential transition committee during his president-elect period, criticism arose over the concentration of appointments among men in their 50s, and this trend continued with cabinet appointments after inauguration. With a large number of former prosecutors appointed to key positions in the presidential office and government, the term "prosecutor republic" was coined.

He has also been criticized for acting unilaterally by pushing through appointments despite concerns about suitability. On the 4th, President Yoon appointed Park Soon-ae as Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, despite opposition due to her drunk driving while intoxicated and abuse of power controversies. When criticism arose, President Yoon mentioned the "previous administration" on the morning of the 5th, saying, "Have you seen such excellent ministers appointed by the previous administration?" "Try comparing with other administrations," referring to the 'previous government.'

Internal conflicts within the ruling People Power Party are also factors fueling the decline in President Yoon's approval rating. Despite a landslide victory in the June 1 local elections, the power struggle between party leader Lee Jun-seok and the pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) faction has continued for over a month. Bae Hyun-jin, a Supreme Council member who has publicly clashed with Lee, declared a boycott of the Supreme Council meetings, demanding resolution of Lee's alleged sexual bribery scandal, deepening intra-party conflicts.

Regarding President Yoon's approval rating, former People Power Party emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in expressed concern in an interview with KBS Radio on the 30th of last month, saying, "This is usually a serious situation. If we do not quickly diagnose and devise countermeasures, the situation will inevitably become more difficult."

Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said, "The president cannot always implement policies that receive public approval, so a drop in approval ratings can happen. However, President Yoon's dead cross is more influenced by accumulated controversies such as personnel issues rather than policy execution," adding, "Even though election polls have errors compared to actual votes, the results are generally similar. Poll results do not reflect public opinion 100%, but they are certainly a standard. If you care about public sentiment, you should respond sensitively to poll results."

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