Democratic Party Calls for "Reform, More Reform"... Will Lee's 'Stagnant Approval Ratings' Find a Breakthrough?

Lee's Approval Rating Stagnates, Democratic Party Announces 'Emergency Reform Plan'
Lee Jae-myung Pleads with Tears and Deep Bow... "I Will Repay with New Politics"
People Power Party Calls It a "Trick to Dodge Responsibility"
Experts Say "Must Find and Solve Cause of Approval Rating Stalemate"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, attended the 'Maetaverse Goyang, Into the Hearts of the People!' event held on the 26th at Hwajeong Station Cultural Square in Gyeonggi-do, waving to citizens and greeting them. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Recently, the Democratic Party of Korea has been attempting to overcome unfavorable presidential election prospects by calling for reform. As the theory of regime change grows stronger, there is an analysis that the party launched a new gambit ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. Presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is also continuing his so-called 'pleading walk' around the metropolitan area.

On the 25th, Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party, held an emergency press conference at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, and announced an 'emergency reform plan.' The main points include △not running in the next general election △no nomination for by-elections in Seoul Jongno, Gyeonggi Anseong, and Chungbuk Cheongju △swift processing of expulsion motions for lawmakers Yoon Mi-hyang, Lee Sang-jik, and Park Deok-heum △priority nomination of youth candidates in the June local elections.

On the same day, Leader Song bowed his head, deeply feeling responsible for the regime change theory. He said, "Over the past nine months, we have humbly accepted the public's criticism of incompetent reforms, double standards, and arrogance, and have been striving for change and reform. However, the Democratic Party's reflection, change, and reform have been very insufficient to alleviate the public's anger, disappointment, and wounds," he reflected. Leader Song added, "I deeply feel that the high public demand for regime change now is due to our shortcomings," and apologized.

There is an analysis that the background of this strong reform plan is the judgment that the presidential election prospects are turning unfavorable, including the recent stagnation of candidate Lee's approval ratings.

Recently, the approval rating of Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, has surpassed that of candidate Lee. The release of recordings involving his spouse Kim Geon-hee and frequent internal conflicts within the election campaign headquarters have not significantly affected his approval ratings. According to a survey conducted by Realmeter commissioned by YTN from the 24th to 25th, targeting 1,018 men and women aged 18 and over nationwide, candidate Yoon received 44.7%, ahead of candidate Lee's 35.6% outside the margin of error (±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level).

Public opinion favoring regime change is also high. According to a survey conducted by Korea Research commissioned by KBS from the 17th over three days targeting 1,000 adults nationwide, 38.2% responded that they want regime extension, while 54.5% said regime change is necessary. For more details, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is performing a deep bow with Democratic Party lawmakers representing constituencies in Gyeonggi Province on the morning of the 24th at Yongin Poeun Art Hall in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, before announcing Gyeonggi Province policy pledges, expressing his intention to do better in the future.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Candidate Lee is also showing a 'pleading walk.' On the morning of the 24th, at a venue where he announced pledges for the Gyeonggi region, he made an unexpected deep bow. He said, "Since it is the New Year and also a time for New Year's bows, I intend to express my determination to repay with a completely new politics different from before," and made a deep bow. In the afternoon, he visited Seongnam City in Gyeonggi, his political hometown, and showed tears.

On the 26th, candidate Lee again bowed his head and declared a 'halt to negative campaigning.' At a press conference held at the Yeouido party headquarters, he said, "Politics, which should alleviate the public's worries, is instead causing concern, and I bow my head and apologize. I will start first," and urged, "I, Lee Jae-myung, will stop all negative campaigning from now on. I ask the opposition party to join me." He also promised, "The Lee Jae-myung government will create a national cabinet and unified government to overcome crises," and pledged to actively appoint ministers in their 30s and 40s.

The People Power Party expressed doubts about the sincerity of the Democratic Party's reform. After announcing his pledges at the Yeouido party headquarters on the 25th, candidate Yoon said in a Q&A session, "With an overwhelming number of seats, the public sees the legislature as a legislative dictatorship or autocratic operation, and they have been manipulating the assembly at will. I wonder why they didn't do this earlier and why it is so late," and criticized, "It is difficult to accept the sincerity issue at face value."

Candidate Lee's 'halt to negative campaigning' was also criticized as a "smokescreen trick." Hwang Gyu-hwan, spokesperson for the election campaign headquarters, issued a statement saying, "It is nothing but a trick to gloss over his mistakes with a smokescreen," and pointed out, "Not only is there no sincerity, but it only sounds like a plea to stop criticism against himself."

Experts suggested that before the Democratic Party's reform, the cause of candidate Lee's stagnant approval ratings should be analyzed. Professor Lee Jun-han of the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Incheon National University said, "The cause of the stagnant approval ratings is unlikely to be due to insufficient 'party reform,'" and added, "It is fundamentally necessary to find and solve the cause of the stagnant approval ratings and seriously persuade voters."

Regarding the rise in candidate Yoon's approval ratings, Professor Lee analyzed, "Although it is not exactly clear, it seems to be thanks to the support of men in their 20s and 30s and traditional People Power Party voters," and said, "It appears that managing internal conflicts within the campaign headquarters and changing election strategies recently have been effective."