[Reading K Politics Through Metaphors] What Collapsed Approval Ratings Mean

President Yoon's approval rating at 24%... Lowest since inauguration

Editor's NotePoliticians who are masters of oratory often use a lot of ‘metaphors’ in their speech. They engage in politics with words, employing rhetorical techniques as splendid as those of poets or eloquent speakers. Using these rhetorics as a starting point, we aim to grasp the flow of real politics, often likened to a ‘living organism.’ In the process, we plan to run a series that reveals the inner workings and bare face of K-politics.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

“You have to want to achieve something by persuading the people; only then do you care about approval ratings. Whether it’s pension reform or inter-Korean reconciliation, anything. President Yoon doesn’t seem to have any policy he wants to pursue right now. So it seems like he doesn’t care about approval ratings.”

A senior Democratic Party lawmaker said this about President Yoon Seok-yeol during a lunch with reporters. It is a harsh assessment, probably because he is an opposition party member. He added this metaphor as well: “If you want to borrow money from your wife, you have to come home early and do the dishes to look good, so she pretends to be fooled and lends you the money.”

In this metaphor, the wife represents the people, and ‘borrowing money’ refers to major reform tasks.

In fact, past administrations were sensitive to fluctuations in approval ratings. To implement national agendas with sharp conflicts of interest and heated pros and cons, at least ‘55% (support) to 45% (opposition)’ or ‘up to 60% (support) to 40% (opposition)’ of national support was necessary.

Examples include former President Roh Moo-hyun’s ▲administrative capital relocation, former President Lee Myung-bak’s ▲small government, big market policy, former President Park Geun-hye’s ▲economic democratization, and former President Moon Jae-in’s ▲income-led growth. To gain momentum for pushing large-scale reform tasks, an approval rating of at least the 40% range as a ‘supporting pillar’ is essential.

Therefore, approval ratings are called the barometer of national governance. They are metaphorically described as an energy source, report card, trust indicator, and driving force for governance. They are even read as a driving force for policy promotion in themselves.

Because of this, the phrase ‘not to be swayed by approval ratings’ can be seen as indicating a lack of clear policy tasks that one wants to push forward using approval ratings as momentum.

Of course, the statement ‘I will not be swayed by approval ratings’ was not made by President Yoon alone. It is a common phrase. Former President Lee Myung-bak said, “I am not interested in gaining popularity or public opinion during my term” (November 2009), and former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in also delivered messages saying they would not be swayed by approval ratings. Recently, the Biden administration also said, “Approval ratings are not important” (White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre, June 12).

However, unlike other administrations, it is true that criticism is heard here and there that it is difficult to inductively derive the direction and philosophy of the Yoon Seok-yeol government’s governance. It is said that the spirit of the times that President Yoon embodies, what kind of era he will create, and which national agendas should be prioritized to realize this are not clearly visible. So, the phrase ‘not caring about approval ratings’ ends up being criticized as ‘not having anything to do using approval ratings as a stepping stone.’

Some opposition lawmakers are already talking about ‘lame duck.’ A first-term Democratic Party lawmaker said that after attending the first full committee meeting with ministers, it seemed that even bureaucrats had begun to turn their backs. He predicted that if approval ratings fall further here, civil servants will start criticizing the current government and begin ‘self-politics.’

“Right now, President Yoon looks like someone who has achieved all the goals in life. Regime change and winning the presidency are just means for the happiness of the people and national prosperity, not goals themselves. There is a mountain of work to do.”

This was said by an independent lawmaker. Of course, the authenticity of the statement cannot be confirmed. But the point that ‘there is a mountain of work to do’ is something President Yoon should definitely reflect on.

[Image source=Yonhap News]