63% of Conservatives Say "Kim Geon-hee Should Reduce Her Activities" [Polpol News]

15-17 Days Korea Gallup Poll Results
President Yoon's Approval Rating Falls 1 Percentage Point to 22%
"Special Investigation on Kim Gun-hee Needed" 63%

Amid issues related to First Lady Kim Geon-hee coming to the forefront, President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating for his administration slightly declined, remaining in the low 20% range. Six out of ten respondents in the poll said that a special investigation should be pursued regarding First Lady Kim Geon-hee.

According to a public opinion poll released on the 18th by the polling firm Gallup Korea (conducted from the 15th to the 17th, targeting 1,001 people aged 18 and over nationwide via wireless phone interviews), President Yoon's approval rating dropped by 1 percentage point compared to three weeks ago, recording 22%. Negative evaluations rose by 1 percentage point to 69%.

Gallup stated, "Currently, the response that President Yoon is 'doing well' is prominent only among People Power Party supporters (56%), while 'doing poorly' responses are especially high among Democratic Party and Innovation Party supporters (in the 90% range), and those in their 40s (86%). Among conservatives, 38% said he is doing well, while 56% said he is doing poorly."

Previously, President Yoon recorded a post-inauguration low of 20% in the second week of September, then rebounded to 23% in the third week of September. The current poll, conducted three weeks later, shows little change in public opinion. (Gallup, which releases weekly regular polls, does not conduct polls during weeks with holidays, so no polls were released in the first and second weeks of October.)

However, the reasons for supporting or not supporting the president have changed. Among the 218 respondents who evaluated positively, 36% cited diplomacy and 7% cited defense and security as reasons. This appears to reflect the impact of security issues such as North Korea's destruction of the Gyeongui and Donghae railway connections. Among the 695 respondents who evaluated negatively, 15% pointed to the economy, livelihood, and prices. Following that, 14% mentioned the "Kim Geon-hee issue." Gallup explained, "Compared to three weeks ago, the proportion citing medical school expansion as a reason for negative evaluation decreased, while mentions of the Kim Geon-hee issue increased."

Regarding whether a special investigation should be pursued concerning allegations related to First Lady Kim Geon-hee, 63% responded that it should be introduced, while 26% said it was unnecessary. Among People Power Party supporters, 25% favored introducing a special investigation, while 63% opposed it. In contrast, among conservatives, opinions were evenly split with 47% supporting and 46% opposing the special investigation.

Regarding First Lady Kim's public activities, 67% of all respondents said they should be reduced. Nineteen percent said the current level is appropriate, and 4% said it should be increased. Notably, 53% of People Power Party supporters and 63% of conservatives expressed the opinion that First Lady Kim's public activities should be reduced.

Kim Bong-shin, director at Metavoice, said, "Among the negative evaluations of the president's approval rating, issues related to First Lady Kim were significantly highlighted. While there is opposition to introducing a special investigation, the reaction from People Power Party supporters and conservatives regarding restraint in external activities is a notable point." Kim added, "Although security issues stemming from North Korea may rally those sensitive to security matters and affect approval ratings, there seems to be a limit to how much the approval rating can rise based solely on this issue."

In party approval ratings, the People Power Party's support fell by 3 percentage points to 28%, and the Democratic Party's support dropped by 2 percentage points to 30%. The Innovation Party recorded 8%, and the non-affiliated group was 27%. For more details, please refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.