Weakened Rhyme and Opti Special Prosecutor Proposal... Democratic Party Approval Rating Rises Again [Realmeter]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The support rate for the Democratic Party of Korea, which had dropped by more than 3 percentage points last week, rebounded, widening the gap with the People Power Party beyond the margin of error once again.

According to Realmeter's survey commissioned by YTN conducted from the 19th to the 23rd, the Democratic Party's support rate rose by 2.9 percentage points from the previous week to 35.1%, announced on the 26th. Meanwhile, the People Power Party recorded 27.3%, down 2.3 percentage points. The gap between the two parties' support rates is 7.8 percentage points, which is outside the margin of error (±1.9 percentage points).

Other parties showed the following support rates: Open Democratic Party 7.1%, People’s Party 6.8%, Justice Party 5.4%, and Basic Income Party 0.8%.

The Democratic Party showed significant increases in Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong regions (10.8 percentage points), Seoul (6.8 percentage points), people in their 20s (7.4 percentage points), and progressive groups (8.4 percentage points). On the other hand, the People Power Party saw declines in Gyeonggi and Incheon (4.9 percentage points), Seoul (4.6 percentage points), Daegu and Gyeongbuk (4.0 percentage points), and people in their 20s (7.9 percentage points).

The 'Lime·Optimus' case, which was previously focused on lobbying suspicions involving politicians and government officials, shifted its focus to 'opposition party involvement' and 'prosecutorial misconduct,' which is analyzed to have caused a reversal in the support rates of the two parties.

Regarding the investigation plan for the 'Lime·Optimus case,' the ruling party’s call for the establishment of the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Office (HOCI) is not significantly behind the People Power Party’s push for a special prosecutor.

According to a survey by Realmeter on the 23rd targeting 500 men and women aged 18 and over, 43.6% responded that a special prosecutor should be appointed, while 38.9% said the establishment of HOCI should be expedited. The gap between the two opinions is 4.7 percentage points, within the margin of error (±4.4 percentage points).

By party support, 85.9% of People Power Party supporters preferred the special prosecutor, while 68.4% of Democratic Party supporters favored the establishment of HOCI.

Meanwhile, President Moon Jae-in’s approval rating for his administration fell by 0.2 percentage points from the previous week to 45.6%. Negative evaluations dropped by 0.4 percentage points to 49.6%. The gap between positive and negative evaluations is 4.0 percentage points, outside the margin of error.

The party and presidential approval rating survey contacted 53,544 voters aged 18 and over nationwide, with a final 2,527 respondents completing the survey, resulting in a 4.7% response rate. The sampling error is ±1.9 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more details, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.