As Choi Sun-sil scandal drags on, Pres. Park’s approval rating crumbles

Posted on : 2016-11-02 16:19 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Even in Park’s usual support bases, her approval is tumbling, and could get worse as investigation moves ahead
President Park’s handling of state affairs
President Park’s handling of state affairs

Despite President Park Geun-hye’s hasty replacement of her core advising staff, including the so-called “doorknob triumvirate”, and her efforts to show herself meeting with civic leaders to hear their opinions, public sentiment has cooled to a point beyond recovery, as shown by public opinion results by the Munhwa Ilbo and the Naeil Shinmun newspapers made public on Nov. 1.

According to a telephone opinion poll conducted among 1,000 adults nationwide by the Munhwa Ilbo and Embrain, 48.2% believe the president should either resign (36.1%) or be impeached (12.1%). 26.1% of poll respondents stated that the president should accept a national non-party cabinet’s handing over of wide-scale authority to the prime minister, a total of 74.3% of the populace agrees that Park should retreat to the second line of leadership in one form or another. 22.5% of respondents felt that after the Blue House personnel and cabinet are replaced, the government needs to be stabilized, starting with Park.

“As the situation is to the point where President Park could have to resign, she has become a lame duck president,” said political commentator Yu Chang-seon. “If President Park continues to control the government, the anti-Park faction of the ruling party and the opposing party may even come together to put forth a bill for impeachment,” Yoo continued.

Whether Pres. Park should step down or be impeached
Whether Pres. Park should step down or be impeached

Park’s approval rating is also in free fall. According to the results of the Munhwa Ilbo poll, 13.7% of respondents rate Park’s presidential performance positively. Upon further inspection, the fact that even Park’s usual support bases including the middle aged and elderly, the Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province regions and the conservative base are rapidly turning their backs on her is noteworthy. Among people 60 and older, which usually prop up Park’s approval rating, the positive rating of 29.2% is crushed by a negative assessment of 67.2%. Park’s support among those aged 19 to 29 (1.9%) and those in their thirties (3.9%) is at such a level that finding a supporter is difficult, while support among those in their forties (13.5%) and fifties (14.5%) is also scarce. Among those who supported Park as a candidate in the 2012 presidential election negative evaluations (65.3%) now overwhelm positive ones (30.9%).

According to a telephone and internet poll conducted by the Naeil Shinmun and The Opinion among 1,000 adults nationwide, Park’s approval rating has dropped to 9.2%. With approval ratings falling at 7.9% among those in their fifties, 20.8% among those older than sixty, 8.8% among the Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province regions and 20.2% among the conservative base, it is clear that Park’s core support base is breaking away.

“In the case of former presidents, their approval rating generally dropped due to policy they enacted, but in this case, not only did Choi Sun-sil meddle in politics, she also extorted private enterprises for blackmail money, and there is even suspicion that she dipped into national finances,” Sogang Institute of Political Studies researcher Seo Bok-gyeong said. “As time goes on, new suspicions are arising, and it’s possible the approval rating could fall even further upon the prosecution‘s investigation,” Seo continued.

At the same time, the ruling party’s approval rating is also falling. In a poll by the Munhwa Ilbo about the political parties’ approval ratings, the Democratic Party of Korea holds a comfortable lead at 37.5%. The Saenuri Party trails the Minjoo Party by over 10 percentage points at 26.2%. The People’s Party (15.5%) and the Justice Party (5.5%) follow.

Former Minjoo Party leader Moon Jae-in also rose to the number one spot among preferred presidential nominees for next term. Moon has constantly fallen behind United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, after Ban was mentioned as a possible ruling party nominee, but moved ahead of Ban in the poll at 20.4% versus Ban‘s 18.9%.

By Um Ji-won, staff reporter

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