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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Lee Jae-myung’s Approval Among People in Their 20s Falls Into the 20s as Cabinet Reshuffle Backfires

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Documents & data Ongoing story
  • A Gallup Korea poll put President Lee Jae-myung’s approval at 40%, with disapproval at 51%, the weakest and strongest figures respectively since his inauguration.
  • Approval among people in their 20s fell to 25%, while approval for the cabinet reshuffle remained below its disapproval rating.
  • Controversies involving ministerial nominees have raised questions about the presidential office’s vetting process and narrowed the governing Democratic Party’s lead over the People Power Party.

President Lee Jae-myung’s second cabinet reshuffle, intended to secure momentum and lift his approval ratings, is facing a backlash over controversies surrounding nominees. His approval among people in their 20s has fallen into the 20s for the first time.

A Korea Gallup survey of 1,001 adults conducted from the 1st to the 3rd recorded a 40% positive assessment of Lee’s performance and a 51% negative assessment. The figures marked the lowest approval and highest disapproval since he took office. Approval among respondents in their 20s dropped six percentage points from the previous week to 25%. Approval among those in their 30s fell four points to 31%.

The article links the sharp decline among younger voters to controversies involving nominee Yong Hye-in, including her simultaneous holding of a proportional-representation parliamentary seat and a ministerial nomination. Questions about her spouse’s party work have also fueled criticism that the appointments clash with younger voters’ expectations of fairness.

If breaking the existing practice of simultaneously holding a proportional-representation seat and a ministerial post is to be good politics, efforts must be made so that everyone can receive the benefit. Instead, it appears aimed at benefiting me and my party.

· Kim Bong-shinThe MetaVoice chief criticized the public perception surrounding Yong Hye-in’s nomination.

Kim Bong-shin of MetaVoice said breaking an established practice could be seen as good politics only if its benefits were made available to everyone. Political commentator Park Sang-byung said younger voters viewed Yong’s ambition as excessive. Another nominee, Kim Seung-won, faces allegations that he sought favors over approval for a new-drug clinical trial, while questions involving the Food and Drug Safety Ministry have spread.

In the Gallup poll, personnel issues ranked third among reasons for negative views of Lee’s performance, behind real-estate policy and the economy and livelihoods. A separate Korea Society Opinion Institute survey found 46.6% opposed the reshuffle of six ministries, compared with 37.7% who supported it. Democratic Party support stood at 38%, against 30% for the People Power Party, narrowing the gap to within 10 points for the first time since Lee took office. The confirmation hearings, due in about 10 days, will be an early test for Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok.

Young people see nominee Yong’s ambition as excessive.

· Park Sang-byungThe political commentator characterized the reaction among younger voters.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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