Lee Jae-myung's 'Dead Cross': 44% Positive, 46% Negative as 2030s Anger Over Real-Estate Policy Spreads

Kwon Young-hyeon asked, "Is it really a dead cross? The negative figure is higher than the full positive. Has it become impossible to cover for Lee's approval any longer?"

According to the Gallup poll, Lee Jae-myung's positive rating was 44% and his negative rating 46%. Compared with the previous poll, positive ratings fell 7 percentage points and negative ratings rose 8 points. Among moderates, positive ratings were 43% and negative 45%, showing a clear erosion of moderate opinion.

The figure is analyzed as an indicator that public opinion in Seoul has broken sharply away from Lee.

Public discontent appears to have grown as the government intervened heavily in the housing market and issued numerous regulations. Young people in their 20s and 30s are especially angry about the government's real-estate policy. Kwon Young-hyeon said, "The most overwhelming verdict is that people dislike the real-estate policy. The government keeps meddling and regulating, and has sent countless signals saying don't do it, yet it seems to be deliberately ignoring them. Young people in their 20s and 30s are especially furious."

This double standard is provoking public anger. Kwon Young-hyeon cited the case of Hwang Eui-won, saying, "He sent his child to study in America and to an extremely expensive private school only the very rich can afford. Yet to ordinary citizens and young people he says, 'Live in a bus.' That is what makes people angry."

Ordinary people need a comfortable place to rest after hard work, yet discussions such as putting bathtubs into 13-pyeong rental homes, bus-shelter homes, and goshiwon rooms are seen as showing a lack of basic understanding and respect for people. Kwon Young-hyeon criticized, "The Democratic Party and the ruling party don't seem to win any public sympathy at all. People work hard and come home to a personal, comfortable space where they can rest, yet this attitude of putting bathtubs in 13-pyeong rentals, bus shelters, and goshiwon rooms shows a basic lack of regard for people."

Seo said residents are anxious because of the policy and proposed a direction that does not distinguish between residential and non-residential property under the one-household, one-home rule. This suggests that criticism and concern about Lee's real-estate policy are emerging even within the Democratic Party.

Kwon Young-hyeon explained, "Isn't fairness the thing the 20s and 30s care about most? Yes. But as I said earlier, the message is 'We can, but you can't. We'll live like this, and you'll live in bus shelters.' That is why everyone is angry."

Kwon Young-hyeon said, "Out of nowhere, he coaxed senior People Power Party lawmakers into meeting, and keeps talking about needing to amend the constitution to a four-year two-term system." He questioned the move.

Criticism has been raised over the timing of Lee's meetings with senior People Power Party lawmakers on constitutional amendment. The discussions took place in mid-June and July, a period when protests were continuing over the infringement of citizens' voting rights after the local elections, with people being dragged away and demonstrations nightly at Olympic Park. Jang Ga-hee said, "The meeting seems to have taken place around mid-June. Kim Tae-ho apparently met in July. What kind of month was June? We had just finished the local elections, citizens' voting rights were being infringed, people were being dragged out, and protests were going on every night at Olympic Park. In the middle of all that, they carried out this backroom deal." She called the talks a 'backroom collusion' held while people were suffering.

Doubts have arisen about the sincerity of Lee's constitutional proposal. Jang Dong-hyeok asked Lee to say just five words, that he would not seek re-election, so that his sincerity could be believed, but Lee did not address this and only stressed the need for constitutional change. Jang Ga-hee said, "Cutting the term to four years and making it two-term is simply a signal that he intends to run again." She offered the interpretation that Lee's constitutional proposal is in effect groundwork for re-election.

The timing was when the National Election Commission controversy and protests over alleged election fraud and a re-election were at their height, so doubts emerged over whether important issues such as a special prosecutor probe into the commission were discussed. Jang Ga-hee asked, "Looking at this golf meeting, I wonder how far they got on the constitutional amendment. And at this time, as I pointed out, the National Election Commission controversy. While we were at Olympic Park calling for election-fraud and re-election probes alongside Jang Dong-hyeok, did they talk about the need for a special prosecutor on the commission and pushing it through?"

Reports say Lee Jae-myung proposed a selective military-service system as youth opinion worsened. This is read as an attempt to ease young people's frustration with compulsory conscription. However, critics argue the proposal is merely a move to placate public opinion rather than a real solution to young people's difficulties.

Doubts were strongly raised about whether it is appropriate, since the essential purpose of military service is not wealth-building. Kwon Young-hyeon expressed disbelief, saying, "Do people go to the military in order to accumulate wealth? Seriously, I can't believe he said this. I doubt my own eyes."

Criticism has arisen over Lee Jae-myung's statement that the government bears a major responsibility to ensure military service does not feel like wasted or lost life. This gave the impression that politicians regard young people's military service as a waste. Kwon Young-hyeon, who enlisted voluntarily, stressed that military life was an important process in which he grew from an immature university student into an adult man. "He said it is the government's great responsibility to make sure military life doesn't feel like a waste or loss of life. But these people think our youth's military service is a waste of life." He added that many young people experience growth through military service.

Criticism has been raised that a Ministry of National Defense spokesperson repeatedly said "we will confirm the facts and respond," without giving proper answers to reporters' questions. This evasive attitude was likened to an AI, and the spokesperson was said to be failing to perform the role. Kwon Young-hyeon sharply criticized, "Reporters ask questions and he doesn't answer. 'We'll confirm the facts and get back to you.' He keeps repeating the same thing, like an AI. If he's going to be a spokesman but doesn't know the answers, why is he sitting there? 'We'll confirm and respond' is something even an elementary school student could say."

The spokesperson's failure to give proper answers to reporters exposes problems in the defense system and is fueling public anxiety.

Kwon Young-hyeon said, "What will become of our country's future? The People Power Party really needs to make its voice heard on the volunteer military system." He argued that for the nation's future, in-depth debate and a clear position on the issue are needed.

Citizens want transparency in the election commission system, but Yoon's questioning of whether elections were rigged and his pressure on People Power Party lawmakers were seen as misdirected.

Controversy erupted after Yoon Sang-hyun, chair of the special committee, dismissed irregularities at the election commission as 'logically leaping' and warned against linking them to election fraud. Some have asked whether Yoon is acting as the commission's spokesperson, and calls for his resignation have followed. Jang Ga-hee said, "The chair of this special committee said that linking all the irregularities now coming to light to election fraud is a logical leap. So some are now asking whether Chair Yoon is the election commission's spokesman. If he keeps behaving this way, he should resign from the chair."