[Insight & Opinion] Democratic Party's Sluggish Approval Ratings: A Consequence of Unilateral National Assembly Management

Weak Performance During Party Convention Period
Public Sentiment Shifts Noted Just Four Months After General Election
Urgent Need for Major Shift from Hardline Approach to Unilateral Legislation

The recent decline in support for the Democratic Party of Korea, as seen in various opinion polls, is noteworthy. According to the NBS poll conducted by Embrain Public, KSTAT Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research from August 5 to 7, surveying 1,001 men and women aged 18 and older nationwide, party support stood at 32% for the People Power Party, 24% for the Democratic Party, 10% for the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, and 3% for the Reform Party, in that order.

Of course, positive evaluations of President Yoon Suk-yeol's administration remain at 29%, while negative evaluations are at 60%, showing little change in public opinion toward President Yoon. Nevertheless, the fact that the Democratic Party, currently holding its party convention, is trailing the People Power Party by a significant 8 percentage points is concerning?even when accounting for the support garnered by the Cho Kuk Innovation Party. The Democratic Party’s support rate is the lowest among NBS results so far this year.

Some polls do show a closer race between the Democratic Party and the People Power Party. In a party support survey conducted by Realmeter on August 1?2 at the request of Energy Economy News, targeting 1,002 voters aged 18 and older nationwide, the People Power Party received 38.5% support, while the Democratic Party received 36.3%. Considering that the progressive opposition Cho Kuk Innovation Party garnered 9.4% and the conservative opposition Reform Party took 4.3%, the overall support between the conservative and progressive blocs appears roughly even. (All polls mentioned have a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more details, refer to the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.)

There are two key points to note from recent opinion polls. First, President Yoon has yet to regain public trust. This is an issue the People Power Party must confront as it sets its future direction and policies. Second, despite the Democratic Party’s overwhelming majority in the National Assembly, public sentiment toward the party is also far from favorable. Especially considering the Democratic Party’s landslide victory over the People Power Party in the general election this past April, the party’s current slump in support should be taken seriously. The public sentiment that punished the ruling bloc and handed the opposition a historic victory could be showing signs of change in just four months.

What is causing these signs of change? Public fatigue is mounting over the Democratic Party’s unilateral management of the 22nd National Assembly. For example, regarding the “Chae Sangbyung Special Prosecutor Act,” the People Power Party has been stalling after Han Donghoon, its leader, proposed a revised “third-party recommendation” amendment. Meanwhile, President Yoon’s repeated vetoes of opposition-led bills are also not viewed positively. However, the Democratic Party’s repeated passage of special prosecutor bills?so frequent that critics now call them “blind special prosecutors”?and its tendency to push through bills likely to be vetoed, without negotiation or compromise with the ruling party, make it appear to have abandoned the core responsibilities of politics. The Democratic Party seems focused solely on cornering the ruling bloc, rather than demonstrating leadership in compromise and coordination to reach consensus on reasonable legislation. During the 22nd general election, the party’s nomination process?favoring pro-Lee Jae-myung politicians while sidelining moderates?has solidified the Democratic Party’s hardline stance.

Despite its record-breaking victory in the 22nd general election, the Democratic Party now appears intoxicated with power and unable to exercise restraint. This repeated behavior is generating public fatigue and leading to the party’s declining support. In June 2026, local elections will be held, followed by the next presidential election in March 2027. No matter how low President Yoon’s approval ratings may be, if the Democratic Party continues to present itself as an unbalanced and unreasonable opposition, the outcomes of those elections remain unpredictable. Just as the ruling bloc urgently needs to reform its governance, the Democratic Party must also fundamentally rethink its hardline approach.

Yoo Changsun, Political Commentator