Yoon Suk-yeol sees ratings rise for second week in a row

Politics

Published: 22 Aug. 2022, 16:32

Yoon Suk-yeol sees ratings rise for second week in a row

President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, presides over a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, Monday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval ratings rose for the second consecutive week, following the president's promise last week to better listen to the public and reorganize the presidential office.

In a Realmeter poll released Monday, 32.2 percent of respondents said Yoon was doing a good job in state affairs, up 1.8 percentage points from the previous week.

This was the second week in which Yoon's approval ratings rose after falling below the 30 percent mark earlier this month. They rebounded to 30.4 percent last week.

The poll was conducted on 2,011 adults nationwide from last Tuesday to Friday. It had a margin of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points and a 95 percent confidence level.

Yoon's disapproval rating was 65.8 percent, down 1.4 percentage points compared to the previous week. This compares to 67.8 percent in the first week of August, 67.2 percent the following week and 65.8 percent last week.

"While we will have to wait one or two weeks to see if a recovery is in full swing, a short-term rebound has been confirmed," said a Realmeter analyst. "The sense of crisis caused by the sharp drop in approval ratings resulted in stronger cohesion and more resilience."

Last Wednesday, Yoon held his first full-fledged press conference to mark 100 days in office, and he acknowledged his low approval ratings and promised to "humbly" listen to the public. The presidential office also promised some reforms were on their way.

On Sunday, Yoon conducted the first reshuffle in his presidential office, including selecting a new senior secretary for press affairs and creating the new position of senior presidential secretary for policy planning.

Kim Eun-hye, a TV anchor-turned-politician and a spokesperson for President-elect Yoon in the transition period, is expected to help with public messaging in her new role as senior secretary for press affairs.

Lee Kwan-sup, vice chairman of the Korea International Trade Association and a former vice trade minister, is expected to bring more consistent policy coordination as senior presidential secretary for policy planning.

On Friday, Yoon met with National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and asked for lawmakers' cooperation ahead of the start of the parliamentary regular session at the beginning of September.

Yoon seems to want to shift from his prosecutorial style, centered rigidly on the rule of law, and move toward joint governance and cooperation with rival parties. He has also toned down his unfiltered remarks since he returned from a vacation at the start of this month.

The presidential office's move Sunday to expand the security perimeter around former President Moon Jae-in's retirement home in Pyeongsan Village in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang in response to escalating threats to his safety is seen as an attempt to reach across the partisan aisle.

"We are also carefully looking at the polls," a presidential official told reporters Monday. "We are aware that approval ratings are a reflection of the sentiment of many people. We will make even more effort than before to understand what the public wants and try to meet such expectations."

Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) received an approval rating of 37.6 percent, up 1.8 percentage points from the previous week after slumping over the past three weeks, according to the Realmeter poll Monday.

In turn, the approval rating for its rival Democratic Party (DP) was 44.4 percent, down 2.7 percentage points from the previous week.

This comes after the PPP underwent a complete leadership transition last week, ousting suspended chairman Lee Jun-seok and launching a new emergency steering committee.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]