Approval Ratings in the 30% Range with TK Support Declining
Consolidating Conservative Support Ahead of the General Election
Consistent References to Former President Park Chung-hee Expressing Respect
President Yoon Suk-yeol met with former President Park Geun-hye for the third consecutive month. Ahead of the general election, this has been interpreted as an effort to repeatedly meet Park to pursue conservative unity and consolidate the support base.
President Yoon Suk-yeol is greeting former President Park Geun-hye, who visited to have lunch together at the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 29th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the 29th, the presidential office reported that President Yoon invited former President Park to a luncheon at the Hannam-dong residence in Seoul. Attending the luncheon were President Yoon and his wife, former President Park, newly appointed Chief of Staff Lee Kwan-seop, and lawyer Yoo Young-ha.
Previously, in April last year, while still president-elect, President Yoon visited former President Park’s residence in Dalseong-gun, Daegu. The following month, in May, former President Park also attended President Yoon’s inauguration ceremony.
On this day, upon hearing that former President Park comes up to Seoul about once every month or two, President Yoon said, "I hope you come comfortably and often (to the residence)," according to Kim Soo-kyung, spokesperson for the presidential office.
This year as well, following meetings in October and last month, President Yoon met former President Park again about 100 days ahead of the general election. Analysts interpret this as a blueprint to unite the conservative camp. Although the ruling People Power Party, the presidential office, and the government are seeking reform through restructuring, it is believed that winning the general election would be difficult with President Yoon’s low approval rating, which remains stuck in the 30% range.
According to a poll conducted by Realmeter, a professional polling agency, commissioned by the Korea Energy Economics Institute from the 18th to the 22nd among 2,508 people aged 18 and older nationwide, and announced on the 25th (with a margin of error of ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, using 97% mobile and 3% landline automated response system (ARS), with a response rate of 2.9%; for details, see the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website), President Yoon’s approval rating for state affairs was 36.3%. There was also a significant drop among conservatives, traditionally classified as his support base, down by 6.1 percentage points.
After the meal, while the two former and current presidents took a roughly 10-minute walk in the residence garden, President Yoon explained the history of the Hannam-dong residence. The Hannam-dong residence was built in 1968 by order of the Army Corps of Engineers after former President Park Chung-hee received a report that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no suitable space to receive foreign guests.
Mentions of former President Park Chung-hee have also been consistent. On October 26, immediately after returning from a state visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which resulted in large-scale economic cooperation, President Yoon visited the memorial service for former President Park Chung-hee held at the National Seoul National Cemetery.
This was the first time a sitting president attended the memorial service for former President Park Chung-hee. Because of this, there was speculation that the intention was to convey to conservatives an image of achieving similar results to former President Park, who led the first Middle East boom in the 1960s and 1970s.
When President Yoon visited former President Park Chung-hee’s residence in Dalseong-gun, Daegu, on the 7th of last month, he also expressed respect, saying, "Reflecting on the state governance during President Park Chung-hee’s era, I am incorporating lessons learned into current state affairs."
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