Democratic Party 33.7%·People Power Party 32.8%... 0.9p Difference Tight Race 'Impact of Choo's Son' [Realmeter]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The Democratic Party's approval rating has dropped significantly, showing a gap of less than 1 percentage point with the People Power Party. Negative evaluations of President Moon Jae-in's administration also rose for the second consecutive week, reaching the 50% mark. The controversy over preferential military service for the son of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae appears to have acted as a negative factor.

According to a poll conducted by Realmeter commissioned by tbs from the 7th to the 9th, the Democratic Party's approval rating fell by 4.1 percentage points from the previous week's weekly aggregate to 33.7%, announced on the 10th. The People Power Party rose by 1.8 percentage points to 32.8%. The gap between the two parties' approval ratings is 0.9 percentage points, indicating a close race.

Other parties showed the following ratings: Open Democratic Party 7.1%, Justice Party 4.3%, People’s Party 4.2%, Basic Income Party 1.2%, and Transition Korea 0.5%.

The Democratic Party saw notable losses among men (down 8.9 percentage points), those in their 50s (down 11.1 percentage points), and students (down 6.5 percentage points), which is interpreted as being influenced by unfairness issues such as the controversy over Justice Minister Choo’s son’s 'emperor military service.'

On the other hand, the People Power Party gained evenly among men (up 3.7 percentage points), people in their 20s (up 8.9 percentage points), centrists (up 3.0 percentage points), and students (up 7.1 percentage points), benefiting from a reflection effect.

President Moon’s approval rating also continued to decline. Positive evaluations dropped by 2.4 percentage points from last week to 45.7%, while negative evaluations rose by 1.4 percentage points to 49.5%, with negative ratings surpassing positive ones within the margin of error.

The approval rating fell sharply among men (down 9.0 percentage points) and students (down 10.6 percentage points), and also declined among people in their 20s (down 5.7 percentage points) and those in their 50s (down 4.1 percentage points). It is interpreted that negative reactions were particularly strong among men, students, and people in their 20s, who are sensitive to military service issues.

This survey contacted 30,116 voters aged 18 and over nationwide, with a final 1,504 respondents completing the survey, recording a 5.0% response rate. The sampling error is ±2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more details, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.