'Nakyeongwon Resignation Controversy'... President Yoon's Approval Rating Drops to '35%'

Gallup Poll
People Power Party Support Rate Drops Together, Party Support Ranks 2nd

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Amid the controversy over the resignation of Na Kyung-won, Vice Chair of the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee, President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating has declined. As the support rate for the People Power Party fell alongside President Yoon's, the Democratic Party of Korea took the lead in party support.

According to a regular public opinion poll conducted by Gallup from the 10th to the 15th (a telephone survey of 1,002 adults aged 18 and over nationwide), President Yoon's approval rating dropped by 2 percentage points from the previous week to 35%. This ended the upward trend in President Yoon's approval rating that had continued since the third week of November last year. The negative evaluation that he is doing poorly rose by 3 percentage points from the previous week to 57%.

Behind the decline in President Yoon's and the People Power Party's approval ratings appears to be partly influenced by the conflict controversy with Vice Chair Na. Notably, in this poll, the approval rating among conservatives, who are President Yoon's core supporters, showed a downward trend. Last week, 66% of conservatives supported President Yoon, but in this week's survey, it fell by 5 percentage points to 61%. Among those who identified as People Power Party supporters, 82% supported President Yoon in last week's survey, but only 76% expressed support in this survey, a 6 percentage point drop in one week. Vice Chair Na has received support from People Power Party supporters and conservatives. For this reason, she has been evaluated as holding a favorable position in the upcoming People Power Party leadership election, which is decided 100% by party members.

Additionally, a new response of "internal conflict within the ruling party (1%)" was added as a reason for negative evaluations of President Yoon, which was not present in the previous week's survey.

The ruling party's support rate also showed a simultaneous decline. The People Power Party's support rate fell by 2 percentage points from the previous week to 33%, the Democratic Party rose by 1 percentage point to 34%, and the Justice Party remained at 4%, the same as last week. As the People Power Party's support rate declined and the Democratic Party's increased, the People Power Party dropped to second place.

For detailed survey methodology and results related to the poll, please refer to the website of the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission.