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South Korean President Moon Jae-in gives a congratulatory address at the launch ceremony of the National Unification Advisory Council at the Blue House on Sept. 30. (Blue House photo pool)
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Analysts point to defections by moderates amid intensifying political squabbles
The job approval rating for South Korean President Moon Jae-in has slipped to 44.4%, the lowest point since his inauguration as president. Support was largely split along ideological lines, with Moon’s approval dropping considerably among moderates. These results were reported on Oct. 7 by Korean public opinion firm Real Meter, which surveyed 2,007 Korean voters of age 19 or above about Moon’s job performance on behalf of Korean broadcaster YTN. The poll, which was conducted over four days, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4 (except for Oct. 3, which was a holiday), had a reliability of 95% and a sample error of ±2.2 percentage points. Moon’s approval rating of 44.4% was 2.9 points down from the previous week, setting a new low for his presidency. The previous record had been 44.9%, which was posted in the second week of March. Negative ratings of Moon’s job performance came in at 52.3%, up 2.1 points, another record for his presidency. Moon’s disapproval rating was 7.9 points higher than his approval rating, exceeding the margin of error. According to Real Meter’s analysis, the drop in Moon’s approval rating reflects defections by moderates and conservatives over the intensifying squabble between the ruling and opposition parties over the scandal revolving around Justice Minister Cho Kuk, the conservatives’ rally on Foundation Day (Oct. 3), North Korea’s test launch of a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), the spread of African swine fever (ASF), and growing reports about economic and financial turbulence in areas including the price of goods, real estate, and exports. The poll was conducted before a large candlelight rally held in Seoul’s Seocho neighborhood this past weekend in support of Moon’s drive for prosecutorial reform. Significantly, increasing political consolidation appears to have widened the gap in performance ratings between the different political camps. Among progressives, Moon’s approval rating rose to 77%; among conservatives, his disapproval rating edged above the 80% line to 80.3%. Among moderates, Moon’s support plunged 5.2 points from the mid-40s to 39.7%. Meanwhile, disapproval among moderates rose 3.1 points to 56.7%. At the party level, the Democratic Party and the Justice Party saw their approval ratings drop while the Liberty Korea Party and the Bareunmirae Party both enjoyed a boost. The Democratic Party couldn’t hold the 40% line, falling 1.9 points from the previous week to 38.3%. The Bareunmirae Party was up 0.8 points to 5.9%, rising for the fourth day in a row. On the other hand, the Justice Party dipped 0.9 points to 4.9%, marking the first time the party had fallen below the 5% line in a year and four months, since May 2018. By Jang Na-rye, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
