'Cargo Solidarity Strike' Yoon's Hardline Approach Works... Approval Rating Rebounds

Gallup Rises 1 Percentage Point to 31%
Union Response Cited as Main Reason for Support
MediaTomato Poll Shows 5.6% Increase to 35.5%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating showed an upward trend. This is interpreted as a result of his firm response stance regarding the Cargo Solidarity strike situation, and the ruling party's approval rating also showed an upward trend.

According to Gallup's regular survey conducted from the 29th of last month to the 1st of this month (a telephone interviewer survey targeting 1,000 adults aged 18 and over nationwide), President Yoon's approval rating rose by 1 percentage point from the previous week's survey to 31%. It showed an increase of 1 percentage point for two consecutive weeks.

Among those who expressed support for President Yoon (open-ended responses), 12% cited fairness, justice, and principles as reasons. Following that, diplomacy and labor union response each accounted for 8%. Fairness, justice, and principles, which have appeared as reasons for supporting President Yoon every time, increased by 7 percentage points compared to the previous survey, and the newly included labor union response is believed to have been greatly influenced by the principled response to the Cargo Solidarity strike.

In party support, the People Power Party rose by 3 percentage points from the previous week to 35%, taking first place. The Democratic Party recorded 33%, the same as last week. The Justice Party was at 4%, and the non-affiliated group at 27%.

In a public opinion poll released by Media Tomato (commissioned by News Tomato, conducted from the 28th to the 30th over three days, targeting 1,037 adults aged 18 and over nationwide using wireless ARS method), President Yoon's approval rating for state administration rose significantly. Positive evaluations of President Yoon's state administration increased by 5.6 percentage points from last week's regular survey to 35.5%. Negative evaluations decreased by 4.7 percentage points to 62.6%.

In the nationwide indicator survey (NBS) conducted by four media companies?Embrain Public, K-stat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research?from the 28th to the 30th of last month (telephone interview method targeting 1,003 adults aged 18 and over, conducted biweekly every two weeks), President Yoon's approval rating for state administration rose by 3 percentage points from the previous survey to 32%. Negative evaluations dropped by 2 percentage points to 60%.

Kim Bong-shin, CEO of Metavoice and an expert in public opinion surveys, explained, "The rise in President Yoon's approval rating seems to be influenced by the response related to the Cargo Solidarity. Negative opinions are decreasing and positive opinions are increasing among the self-employed, who are directly affected in their livelihoods, indicating a significant impact on this group."

For detailed survey outlines and results, please refer to the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.