'Approval Ratings Stagnate' Lee Jae-myung Offers Deep Bow and Appeals Emotionally with Tears

Lee Jae-myung Trapped in 30% Approval Rating Box
Bows Deeply and Reflects, "We Were Lacking"
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Experts Say "Failed to Differentiate from Moon Administration, Unable to Convince Public"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is wiping away tears during an impromptu speech at the 'Maetaverse' Seongnam, Into the Public Sentiment! event held on the afternoon of the 24th at Sangdaewon Market in Jungwon-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, lowered his posture significantly toward the public. He apologized for the Moon Jae-in administration's failed real estate policies with a deep bow and also showed tears while repeatedly admitting "I was wrong" regarding the 'brother-in-law curse' controversy. With the presidential election just over a month away and his approval ratings stuck in the 30% range, analysts say he resorted to an 'emotional appeal' to overcome this.

On the morning of the 24th, before announcing regional pledges at Poeun Art Hall in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Lee unexpectedly made a deep bow. He said, "The Democratic Party will do better from now on. We were very lacking. Since it is the New Year, I want to express this resolution with a New Year's bow and an apology." It was about two months since Lee last made a deep bow on November 24 last year, when his approval ratings also faltered, and he apologized by mentioning the 'Cho Kuk incident' among other things.

He continued, "The people trusted the Democratic Party and entrusted the presidency, the head of the national administrative power, and in the general election, they entrusted the legislative power with an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly. However, we were very lacking in fairness, which is a core value of the reformist progressive forces. We were also not broad enough in talent recruitment," he reflected.

In the afternoon, Lee visited Sangdaewon Market in Seongnam and shed tears while talking about his family history. Sangdaewon Market is known as the place where Lee and his parents once worked to make a living. He choked up, saying, "My family has maintained their livelihood in this space for decades and lived together with you all. We worked hard, tried to live cleanly, and came this far, but there are too many wounds."

Regarding the brother-in-law curse controversy, he apologized, saying, "I was wrong. As a public official, I should not have cursed and should have endured until the end." He added, "Now, my mother and elder sister have passed away. This will never happen again." He also said, "Please stop digging into the painful wounds of my family now."

On the 24th, before announcing the Gyeonggi-do policy pledge, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is performing a deep bow./Photo by Yonhap News

Lee’s deep bow and tearful appeal are analyzed as a sign of desperation after multiple polls showed him trailing Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party. Despite controversies such as the 7-hour phone call recordings of Yoon’s spouse Kim Gun-hee and her connections with a shaman, Lee’s approval ratings have hardly escaped stagnation.

A Realmeter survey commissioned by OhmyNews, conducted from the 16th to the 21st among 3,046 adults nationwide (confidence level 95%, margin of error ±1.8 percentage points), showed Yoon at 42.0% and Lee at 36.8%. The gap of 5.2 percentage points was outside the margin of error, giving Yoon the lead. The gap between the two candidates widened from the previous survey’s 3.9 percentage points.

As Lee’s approval ratings failed to rise into the 40% range, the Democratic Party announced a party reform plan including a non-nomination policy for the parliamentary by-elections held alongside the March 9 presidential election.

On the 25th, Song Young-gil, the party leader, held an emergency press conference at the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, stating, "It is the responsibility of a public party to follow the common sense and principles of the people," and "Regardless of political gains or losses, we will uphold responsible politics by accepting the will of the people. Giving up nominations is a painful decision for now, but it will be an opportunity for our party to grow as a responsible party." Song also said, "I will give up more. I will start by giving up myself," indicating he will not run in the next general election.

Experts point to Lee’s failure to differentiate himself from the Moon Jae-in administration as the cause of his stagnant approval ratings. Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said, "As the Moon administration’s failures, including real estate policies, have accumulated, public opinion still favors regime change in this election," and "Lee has been trying to differentiate himself from the Moon administration, but it has not been very successful."

He added, "Lee says he will differentiate his real estate policy, but there is not much difference in the policy content. The core of the current government’s real estate policy was supply expansion, and Lee’s pledges, though named differently, also focus on supply expansion," and "In that sense, it is hard to see how it differs from the Moon administration, and it has failed to sufficiently persuade the public."