Concerns Over Majority Defection Among Conservative and People Power Party Supporters
President Yoon's Approval Rating Drops 1 Percentage Point to 33%
People Power Party 34%, Democratic Party 27%
A public opinion survey revealed that three-quarters of respondents are concerned about the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. Six out of ten respondents said they are reluctant to eat seafood. The support rate for the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) sharply declined following the fallout from the rejection of the expulsion motion against independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk, who was involved in a cryptocurrency controversy.
According to a regular survey conducted by Gallup Korea from the 29th to 31st of last month (via telephone interviews with 1,002 adults aged 18 and older nationwide), 75% of respondents expressed concern about marine and seafood contamination due to the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant. In contrast, only 22% said they were not worried.
Notably, more than half of the supporters of the People Power Party (PPP) and conservatives also expressed concern about contamination. Among respondents who identified their political orientation as conservative, 58% showed concern, and 46% of those who declared support for the PPP expressed worries about the contaminated water discharge.
Seventy-three percent of respondents believed there is a possibility that the discharge of contaminated water could pollute Korea’s marine environment and seafood. Twenty-one percent said there is no such possibility. When asked whether the risks of discharge are exaggerated, 35% said yes, while a majority of 54% said no. Sixty percent of respondents said they are reluctant to consume seafood due to the contaminated water discharge, whereas 37% said they are not.
President Yoon Suk-yeol’s approval rating for his administration fell by 1 percentage point from the previous week to 33%. Negative evaluations rose by 2 percentage points to 59%.
In party support ratings, the People Power Party maintained the same 34% as the previous week, while the Democratic Party’s support dropped by 5 percentage points to 27%. The Justice Party’s support stood at 5%, and the proportion of undecided or non-supporters was 32%.
The sharp decline in the Democratic Party’s support appears to be influenced by the rejection of disciplinary action against lawmaker Kim Nam-guk, who was recommended for expulsion by the National Assembly Ethics Review Advisory Committee due to trading cryptocurrencies during committee hours. The disciplinary motion was voted on by the National Assembly Ethics Special Committee’s first subcommittee on the 30th of last month but ended in a 3:3 tie, resulting in rejection. Although the expulsion motion was conducted by secret ballot, it is known to have been rejected mainly due to opposition from Democratic Party lawmakers.
For detailed information on the survey methodology and results, please refer to the website of the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission.
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