President Yoon's Approval Rating Drops Amid Controversy Over Japan's Forced Labor Compensation

President Yoon Suk-yeol Approval Rating at 34%... Down 2%P
People Power Party at 38%, Democratic Party Rebounds to 32%
59% Oppose Third-Party Compensation Plan for Forced Mobilization

President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating for his administration slightly declined due to issues such as compensation for forced labor during the Japanese colonial period. The public predominantly opposed the third-party compensation method.

According to Gallup's regular survey conducted on the 10th (a telephone interview survey of 1,002 adults aged 18 and older nationwide from the 8th to 9th), positive evaluations of President Yoon's performance dropped by 2 percentage points from the previous week to 34%. Negative evaluations rose by 3 percentage points to 58%.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is shaking hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and taking a commemorative photo at a Korea-Japan summit held at a hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in November last year.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The forced labor compensation issue appears to have influenced President Yoon's approval rating. When asked why they positively evaluated the president's job performance (339 respondents, open-ended), they cited labor union responses (17%), diplomacy (8%), and improvement in Japan relations (7%). Conversely, those who gave negative evaluations (584 respondents, open-ended) mentioned Japan relations and forced labor compensation issues (16%), diplomacy (13%), and economy, livelihood, and prices (10%) as reasons.

In terms of party support, the People Power Party's approval rating fell by 1 percentage point from the previous survey to 38%, maintaining first place. The Democratic Party rebounded by 3 percentage points to 32%. The non-affiliated group without party support accounted for 25%, and the Justice Party stood at 4%. Amid controversy over the vote on the arrest consent bill, the Democratic Party, which had fallen below 30% for the first time in eight months last week, appears to have successfully rebounded within a week.

Regarding the government's proposed third-party compensation plan for victims of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period, negative public opinion prevailed. While 35% supported it for the sake of Korea-Japan relations and national interest, 59% opposed it due to the lack of apology and compensation from Japan. Gallup analyzed, "Support for the third-party compensation plan is strong among those who positively evaluate the president's job performance (78%) and People Power Party supporters (67%)," but also noted, "Among conservatives and those aged 60 and above, support is around 50%, with opposition about 40%. Except for ruling party supporters, most respondent groups showed opposition."

Regarding Japanese companies responsible for forced labor making donations to youth and future generation support organizations instead of direct compensation, 27% considered it as compensation, while 64% did not. On Korea-Japan relations, 31% believed that "even if we make some concessions, relations should be improved as soon as possible," whereas 64% said, "If Japan's attitude does not change, there is no need to rush improvement." When asked whether Japan is reflecting on its past colonial rule, 8% believed Japan is reflecting, while 85% did not.

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