Presidential Approval Rating Collapses to 35%, Even 4050s Turn Away

The President's 35% approval rating support line collapsed faster than expected. According to a Korea Research survey, negative evaluations of the President exceeded 60%, and the approval rating fell to 34.7%. This goes beyond the collapse of the 35% line and suggests the possibility of the approval rating further declining to the low 30s and late 20s.

Negative public opinion has spread recently following the cabinet reshuffle and presidential office appointments. In particular, it is pointed out that the move to reappoint individuals who lost elections to the presidential office is seen as a political regression. The communication problem that arose during the resignation of Chief of Staff Kim Yong-beom also added to the negative evaluations.

The negative evaluation of the President by those in their 30s is approaching 70%. Increasing economic hardship due to losses in the stock market and real estate loan regulations, as well as a low sense of impact from rental housing-focused policies, are cited as major reasons for the growing distrust among those in their 30s.

Even the 4050 generation, previously known for unconditionally supporting specific political forces, is withdrawing their support, with negative evaluations of the President recording around 60%. As inflation and economic burdens increase, the pendulum seems to be swinging from political support to a sober evaluation of policy outcomes.

In party approval ratings, the Democratic Party is showing a downward trend, while the People Power Party is on the rise, indicating signs of a golden cross. Currently, the Democratic Party is at 40.5% and the People Power Party is at 40.1%, engaged in a neck-and-neck race. After former President Park Geun-hye's message, internal solidarity within the People Power Party strengthened, and efforts to establish party discipline seem to be driving the upward trend in approval ratings.

The trustworthiness of police investigations was found to be at a serious level. The survey results showed that only 18.6% of respondents trusted the police, while 64.6% did not. This indicates that the level of distrust in police investigations has already exceeded its limits.

Public opinion on the integration of the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies showed a dominant opposition. 55.9% of respondents opposed the integration, while only 36.2% supported it. This seems largely due to concerns about weakening the professionalism of core military personnel training.

A Telegram message revealing factional conflict within the Democratic Party was intercepted, causing controversy. The message, sent to Rep. Park Seon-won of the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction, read, 'It seems Jeong Cheong-rae's forces are targeting Rep. Kim Ki-pyo. You should quickly go and take control.' This statement is interpreted as an attempt by a specific faction to seize control within the party.

Immediately after the text message controversy erupted, the Democratic Party promptly dismissed Kang Min-gu, the Deputy Head of the Ethics Monitoring Committee. This is interpreted as an attempt to cut off risks related to Chairman Kim Min-seok, and is being criticized as a swift 'cutting off the tail' measure.

It is rumored that Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae is touring the country, persuading party members not to leave and to wait. This is analyzed as a move to prepare for a potential shift to an emergency committee system in light of the Democratic Party's declining approval ratings and the joint risks with Chairman Lee Jae-myung.

Controversy over procedural legitimacy arose regarding the appointment of Rep. Yong Hye-in's husband as Secretary-General. The issue was that Rep. Yong Hye-in and her husband alone held a meeting to nominate the Secretary-General. This is criticized as being far from the usual appointment procedure.

Rep. Yong Hye-in's husband, Park Kyung-hong, is known to have resigned before completing his term as the representative of the progressive group 'Youth Left' in the past. It is pointed out that controversies over discriminatory remarks and exclusion of female activists, and especially inadequate response to sexual harassment incidents, were major reasons for his resignation.

Three years ago, author Yoo Shi-min's past remarks praising Rep. Yong Hye-in as an 'excellent politician who doesn't emphasize being a young politician, speaks her mind clearly no matter how nonsensical the talk, and doesn't get emotionally agitated' are being re-examined. It is pointed out that there is a disconnect between Yoo Shi-min's past evaluation and the current controversies surrounding Rep. Yong Hye-in.

It is reported that there are differing views within the Democratic Party regarding Rep. Yong Hye-in's actions. Voices are calling for her to continue pursuing the minister nomination but resign from her proportional representative seat. Rep. Song Hyeon-gil also expressed skepticism about her 'sudden rise' and doubted her appeal to the 2030 generation.

Concerns are being raised about the possibility of insufficient personnel verification by the Presidential Office. There are suspicions that the verification process was neglected based on the 'one-dimensional' idea that appointing Rep. Yong Hye-in as Minister of Gender Equality and Family would gain support from women in their 20s and 30s. It has also been confirmed that information about the cabinet reshuffle was not properly shared until just before the minister's nomination, making it difficult to avoid criticism. This is cited as one of the issues the Presidential Office must contend with regarding the current decline in approval ratings.