Handonghun Positive Rating Surpasses 50%... Eonju Lee Says "Favorability Is Not the Decisive Factor in the General Election"

President Yoon's Approval Rating and 'Decoupling'?
Han Jia: "A Positive Driving Force and Vitality for the Emergency Committee"
Lee Eon-ju: "Favorability Is Not the Decisive Factor in the General Election"

Public opinion polls are showing that the approval rating of Han Dong-hoon, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, who has been in office for a month, surpasses that of President Yoon Suk-yeol and the People Power Party. Political circles are focusing on whether Chairman Han can elevate personal support into party support.

Handonghoon, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is delivering opening remarks at the "Future of University Students Together On-site Meeting" held at Soongsil University in Dongjak-gu, Seoul on the 24th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Former lawmaker Lee Eon-ju, who left the People Power Party and was invited to rejoin by Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, appeared on YTN Radio's "News King Park Ji-hoon" on the 29th and analyzed, "The degree of veto or favorability toward Chairman Han is unlikely to have a decisive impact on the general election."

Regarding the recent phenomenon of increasing positive evaluations of Chairman Han following clashes with President Yoon, former lawmaker Lee said, "There seems to be a somewhat fresh perspective," but explained, "Since the Yoon Suk-yeol administration still has more than three years left in its term, this is a mid-term evaluation deciding whether to exert more checks or to support the current state more. Therefore, the favorability toward Chairman Han is unlikely to have a decisive impact on the general election." He added, "In any case, if the general election results in defeat, Chairman Han will inevitably bear responsibility, so this is linked to the national governance evaluation of President Yoon, that is, the mid-term evaluation results."

On the other hand, Han Ji-a, an Emergency Response Committee member of the People Power Party, said, "I think (Chairman Han's recent popularity) is a response to a change in the new political paradigm," adding, "Those influences naturally affect the Emergency Response Committee as well, becoming a positive driving force and injecting vitality." Han also said, "Currently, the Emergency Response Committee is conducting routine work while steering the ruling party's winning strategy toward policy principles rather than political strife," and added, "Committee members are listening to the public's voice on good policies and continuously discussing them."

Public opinion toward Chairman Han is favorable. According to a Gallup Korea survey conducted from the 23rd to 25th with 1,001 respondents on the evaluation of party leader duties (telephone interviews, 95% confidence level, margin of error ±3.1 percentage points), 52% of respondents rated Chairman Han as "doing well." This is 17 percentage points higher than the positive evaluation of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, at 35%. The conservative camp is closely watching this result, which is comparable to the 52% positive evaluation of Park Geun-hye, the Emergency Response Committee Chairwoman of the Saenuri Party in 2012, who was called the "queen of elections." Meanwhile, during the same period, President Yoon's job approval rating was 31%, down 1 percentage point from the previous week, and disapproval rose 5 percentage points to 63%. The People Power Party's support rate remained at 36%, the same as the previous week.

According to the National Barometer Survey (NBS) conducted by Embrain Public, K-Stat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research from the 22nd to 24th with 1,001 men and women aged 18 and over nationwide (95% confidence level, margin of error ±3.1 percentage points), Chairman Han recorded a higher approval rating than President Yoon. The evaluation that Chairman Han is performing well as Emergency Response Committee Chairman was 47%, while 31% responded that President Yoon is managing state affairs well. This has led to analysis that Chairman Han, who showed a subtle difference in stance from President Yoon regarding the suspicion of First Lady Kim Geon-hee's luxury handbag receipt, has generated favorable public opinion.

Meanwhile, Chairman Han met with reporters at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the same day and said, "Although I have done my best as if one day in a month, I feel I was quite lacking," adding, "I will work hard every day for the remaining 70 days until the general election." Regarding the 'decoupling' phenomenon where his approval rating and the administration and ruling party's approval ratings move separately, he said, "I will do better," and added, "I am someone who is evaluated by the people, not someone who analyzes or evaluates how the people evaluate."