Lee Jae-myung's Approval Rating Hits All-Time Low

There is a strong backlash among young people regarding Rep. Yong Hye-in retaining her parliamentary seat. Many in their 20s and 30s are critical of Rep. Yong Hye-in for obtaining her parliamentary seat through protests and aligning herself, perceiving it as unacceptable that she has served as a National Assembly member twice and even held a ministerial position without stepping down. This criticism has become an opportunity to expose stark differences of opinion within the Democratic Party regarding Rep. Yong Hye-in's position.

Inside the Democratic Party, conflicting positions clash over Rep. Yong Hye-in's status. Supreme Council member Park Seon-won insisted that Rep. Yong Hye-in must resign from her proportional representation seat. In contrast, Rep. Choi Min-hee stated that it would be better for Rep. Yong Hye-in to retain her seat, claiming she is a capable individual worthy of serving as a proportional representative twice.

Factional conflict within the Democratic Party is intensifying over Rep. Yong Hye-in's position. The pro-Lee faction, concerned about the decline in Lee Jae-myung's approval rating, argues that Rep. Yong Hye-in should put aside her ambition and resign. From the pro-Lee faction's perspective, it is clear that Lee Jae-myung's approval rating is plummeting because of Yong Hye-in. On the other hand, Kim Eo-jun and Choi Min-hee, categorized as pro-Moon/pro-Jeong, believe that a drop in Lee Jae-myung's approval rating would actually expand their own political space within the party.

The Justice Party, with its party leader at the forefront, is criticizing Rep. Yong Hye-in's appointment as inappropriate. This is part of the struggle for leadership within the left-wing camp, stemming from the loss of proportional representation seats that were historically the Justice Party's share. The Justice Party intends to highlight its presence as a 'true leftist' and strengthen its position by differentiating itself from the Lee Jae-myung administration.

Recent personnel controversies clearly demonstrate that Cheong Wa Dae's political line is paralyzed. In the past, the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs' office would thoroughly prepare for such personnel issues by persuading lawmakers and conducting reputation checks. However, this function is currently absent. This first indicates a loss of control due to the weakening of Lee Jae-myung's leadership, and second, it is evidence that Cheong Wa Dae's political line is not functioning properly. Ultimately, this is leading to the failure of the Lee Jae-myung administration's public relations strategy (PG).

Rep. Yong Hye-in's actions are acting like a bombshell among the Democratic Party's supporters, especially 2030 men, spreading antipathy towards Chairman Lee Jae-myung. Despite pro-Lee figures like Lee Dong-hyung showing anti-feminist tendencies, the perception is growing that Lee Jae-myung's policy direction is more left-wing and feminist than the Moon Jae-in administration's. This is leading to an exodus of 2030 men, raising concerns about the future of the Democratic Party.

In recent polls commissioned by PenNMike and conducted by Research View, Chairman Lee Jae-myung's approval rating has reached an all-time low. Previously, his positive evaluation stood at 61%; now, his negative evaluation is 61%, with positive evaluation at a mere 36%. Other major polls, including Realmeter and Gallup, also clearly show a decline in Lee Jae-myung's approval rating.

The Democratic Party continues to show an inability to achieve factional harmony even after the national convention. In particular, the public friction between Supreme Council member Kim Min-seok and Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae is intensifying the internal conflict within the party. When Supreme Council member Kim Min-seok took the microphone during a speech to criticize Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae, Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae protested, calling it 'microphone dictatorship.' Such clashes are also leading to a factional publicity war through appearances on Kim Eo-jun's broadcast.

Chairman Cho Kuk is publicly addressing and pressuring Chairman Lee Jae-myung's 'judicial risks' as if he were a legal expert. He asserted that Lee Jae-myung's trials would resume after his term ends and that conviction is highly likely. This is information that many people have known but was not dared to be mentioned even within the Democratic Party, suggesting that Chairman Cho Kuk has touched Lee Jae-myung's Achilles' heel. These remarks appear to be an attempt by the pro-Moon faction to regain political leadership, and there is also a possibility that they could be used as political leverage, such as for agreeing to withdraw charges.

Currently, public sentiment for regime change against the ruling party remains high. In this atmosphere, what the opposition party needs is perseverance to endure difficult opposition life. This is because the sentiment against the ruling party naturally benefits the opposition. Indeed, analysis suggests that the Democratic Party's victories are largely due to the People Power Party's mistakes, rather than its own competence. Despite Chairman Lee Jae-myung's administration not having achieved anything particularly well, it maintains or increases its approval rating due to the ruling party's blunders. Therefore, the Democratic Party should not merely rely on incidental benefits but should rather fulfill its role as a steadfast opposition party that offers policy alternatives and can earn public trust. Concerns are also being raised that if this structure continues, the Democratic Party could lose its self-correction capability by solely depending on calls for regime change.