Since the 3rd week of July, negative evaluations have surpassed positive evaluations in TK
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is raising his hand to greet citizens who came out to welcome him during his visit to Seomun Market in Jung-gu, Daegu on the 12th. Photo by the Transition Team Press Corps
[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] President Yoon Seok-yeol's approval rating for his administration remains in the 20-30% range after 100 days in office, despite efforts to reform the presidential office.
He visited Daegu Seomun Market, known as a conservative stronghold, repeatedly emphasizing the economy and people's livelihoods, but even in the TK (Daegu-Gyeongbuk) region, negative evaluations still outnumber positive ones.
According to the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission on the 22nd, a Gallup Korea survey on President Yoon's job performance (conducted from August 30 to September 1, nationwide, 1,000 respondents aged 18 and over, with a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level; for details, refer to the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission website) showed that 27% responded positively with "doing well," while 63% responded negatively with "doing poorly."
Since Gallup Korea's survey in the fourth week of July first recorded a positive rating in the 20% range at 28%, the first week of September survey also remains in the 20% range.
In particular, even in the TK region, the so-called "conservative base" that gave President Yoon 70% of the vote in the last presidential election, negative evaluations continue to surpass positive ones.
In the second week of July, President Yoon's approval rating was 53% positive and 31% negative, but in the third week of July, negative evaluations overtook positive ones with 50% negative and 45% positive. By the third week of August, positive ratings had fallen to 28%, but have been gradually recovering since.
As negative evaluations continued to exceed positive ones, President Yoon made efforts such as presiding over the Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting at Daegu Seongseo Industrial Complex and visiting Seomun Market on August 26.
While former President Park Geun-hye gathered support at Daegu Seomun Market to overcome political crises, President Yoon has not been able to reverse his approval ratings dramatically.
It is assessed that internal conflicts within the ruling People Power Party, former party leader Lee Jun-seok's backlash, the text message controversy between President Yoon and floor leader Kwon Seong-dong, and issues related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee continue to hamper President Yoon.
Unlike former President Park Geun-hye, whose political hometown was TK, President Yoon's base is weak, and he is not a figure who has long enjoyed conservative support, which is also seen as an important factor.
Professor Shin Yul of Myongji University's Department of Political Science and Diplomacy said, "The values that conservatives consider important are fairness, rule of law, and conservative policies, but in TK, these values are not being strongly felt," adding, "It seems necessary to slowly build support among conservative supporters."
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