Democratic Party Supreme Council Features 'Kim Eo-jun Style Poll'

"Poll Flower, High Opposition to Resignation Among 야 Supporters"
Distributed at Last Month's Democratic Party Lawmakers' Meeting

Survey results from the public opinion research firm 'Yeoreonjosa Kkot,' established by broadcaster Kim Eo-jun, are being discussed at the Democratic Party's table.

'Yeoreonjosa Kkot' is a public opinion research organization founded by broadcaster Kim Eo-jun. In April, through the broadcast 'Das Bweida,' Kim stated, "We gaslighted (voters) with public opinion polls, and that had a significant impact on the election," and announced, "We will establish a thoroughly independent public opinion research organization that does not accept any external requests from media companies, political parties, or corporations." He also said, "We will show the map of the hearts of the Republic of Korea as it is."

At the time, there were criticisms questioning the reliability of the polls due to Kim's political leanings, but 'Yeoreonjosa Kkot' successfully completed formal registration with the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission (Yeoshimwi) under the National Election Commission in October last year. To register with Yeoshimwi, certain requirements must be met, such as having a telephone survey system, specialized analysis personnel, at least 10 public opinion poll records, or sales exceeding 50 million KRW within the past year.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Jeong Cheong-rae, Supreme Council member, are conversing at the Supreme Council meeting held on the 22nd at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Recently, Democratic Party lawmaker Jeong Cheong-rae, classified as pro-Lee Jae-myung (Chin Lee Jae-myung faction), has repeatedly cited survey results from 'Yeoreonjosa Kkot' to counter calls for Lee's resignation as party leader.

On the 14th, appearing on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' Jeong said, "According to 'Yeoreonjosa Kkot' survey results, 86.5% of Democratic Party supporters responded that 'Leader Lee should continue to hold the party leader position,'" and explained, "Even those who did not support Lee Jae-myung said, 'The prosecution is going too far,' and 'It's infuriating,' so support for the leader has actually increased."

Although there are disputes over Lee's damaged leadership within the party due to the prosecution investigation and dissenting votes on the arrest consent bill, Jeong's remarks appear to emphasize that Lee's approval rating is actually rising.

At the Democratic Party's Supreme Council meeting on the 13th, the survey results were also mentioned. Jeong said, "According to Yeoreonjosa Kkot, 86.5% said that Lee Jae-myung should maintain his position as party leader," adding, "This is 10 percentage points higher than the 77.7% support he received at the party convention."

On the 6th, the 27th regular ARS public opinion poll by 'Yeoryonjochakot' was announced through the YouTube broadcast 'Kim Eo-jun's Humility is Difficult News Factory.' [Image source=Screenshot from Kim Eo-jun's Humility is Difficult News Factory]

The survey Jeong referred to was the 27th regular ARS survey released by 'Yeoreonjosa Kkot' on the 6th. In this survey, 8.3% responded that "Leader Lee Jae-myung should resign from the party leader position," 86.5% said "He should not resign," and 5.1% answered "Don't know." The survey was conducted on 482 Democratic Party supporters out of 1,002 men and women aged 18 and over nationwide on the 3rd and 4th.

This survey by 'Yeoreonjosa Kkot' showed a much more favorable stance toward Lee maintaining his leadership compared to other surveys conducted around the same time. According to a survey by Hankook Research commissioned by KBS from the 5th to 7th, among 1,000 adults aged 18 and over nationwide, 53.8% responded that Lee should step down, while 40.7% said he did not need to. "Don't know" or no response accounted for 5.5%.

According to a survey by Global Research commissioned by JTBC from the 5th to 6th, among 1,042 adults aged 18 and over nationwide, 56.8% agreed with Lee's resignation, while 41.4% disagreed. Notably, 40.3% strongly agreed with the resignation.

The differences in survey results are likely due to variations in question wording, survey methods, and respondent samples. In particular, the question about Lee Jae-myung's resignation in 'Yeoreonjosa Kkot' targeted only Democratic Party supporters among all respondents, which is presumed to cause the significant difference from other surveys.

Last month on the 21st, the Democratic Party also distributed 'Yeoreonjosa Kkot' survey data at a party members' meeting. The explanatory materials reportedly pointed to the convention effect of the People Power Party's party convention and over-sampling of conservative voters, rather than Lee's judicial risks, as reasons why the Democratic Party's party support rate was overtaken by the People Power Party in some polls at that time.

Meanwhile, detailed information on the surveys cited in the article can be found on the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission's website.