Deputy Prime Minister Park Sunae Likely to Resign Voluntarily... First Cabinet Member to Step Down in Yoon Administration

Confusion Over 'Admission at Age 5' Education Reform Proposal... Ruling Party Also Says "It Means Listening to the Voices of the People and the Opposition"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Park Soon-ae, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, is reported to have voluntarily resigned on the 8th. This marks the first resignation of a Cabinet member since the launch of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration and is effectively a dismissal caused by confusion surrounding the 'age 5 school entry' education system reform plan. Analysts interpret Park's resignation on President Yoon's first day back to work as a signal for government reform.

On the day, a presidential office official stated, "(President Yoon) said he would listen to the voices of the people, so it is a situation where he has no choice but to make this decision to secure momentum for state affairs." Previously, the presidential office had drawn a line against personnel reshuffles, but ongoing confusion over education policy and a drop in approval ratings appear to have led President Yoon to lean toward dismissal.

President Yoon also made remarks leaving the possibility of personnel reshuffles open. When asked about Deputy Prime Minister Park's position, he said, "Isn't all momentum for state affairs derived from the people?" and added, "From the people's perspective, we will review all issues together and carefully examine them. I will go up to the office, review the situation, and take necessary measures if needed." This is interpreted as using Park's dismissal as a turnaround card reflecting public opinion. Park Hyung-soo, floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, also said, "Since it means listening to the voices of the people and the opposition party, I think it is desirable."

This also reflects the approval rating, which has dropped to 24%. According to a regular public opinion poll released by Gallup on the 5th (conducted from the 2nd to the 4th via telephone interviews with 1,001 or more adults nationwide aged 18 and over), 24% of respondents said President Yoon is performing well in his duties, while 66% said he is performing poorly.

It is also noteworthy that on President Yoon's first day back, the negative evaluation of his state affairs performance exceeded 70% for the first time. According to a public opinion poll conducted by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) commissioned by TBS (conducted on the 5th and 6th with 1,002 adults nationwide aged 18 and over via ARS method), the evaluation of President Yoon's state management was 27.5% positive (13.7% very well, 13.8% generally well) and 70.1% negative (7.5% generally poorly, 62.6% very poorly). The positive rating dropped by 1.4 percentage points compared to last week's survey, while the negative rating rose by 1.6 percentage points.