Yoon-Han conflict increases Han’s approval rating

President Yoon Seok-yeol meets with Han Dong-hoon, chairman of the National People\'s Power Emergency Committee, to inspect the scene of a fire at Seocheon Specialty Market in Seocheon-eup, Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, on Nov. 23. Yonhap

After the conflict between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Han Dong-hoon, interim leader of the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP), the approval ratings for Han exceeded that for the president and the PPP. A survey also showed that the gap between Yoon and Han widened to 20 percentage points. This is likely due to the fact that Han subtly differentiated himself from Yoon in his response to first lady Kim Keon-hee's bribery scandal and that he withstood calls for his resignation.

Since the conflict between Yoon and Han was resolved after the two met at a market fire site in Seocheon, South Chungcheong Province on January 23, there has been a clear trend in opinion polls. The so-called "decoupling" phenomenon has emerged, with Han gaining favorable public opinion while Yoon and the ruling party are stagnating.

According to the survey conducted by Gallup Korea from January 23 to 25, 52 percent said yes and 40 percent said no when 1,001 people aged 18 and older nationwide were asked whether they think Han is doing a good job as party leader. The positive rating of Yoon's job performance stood at 31 percent, down 1 percentage point from the previous week, while the negative rating rose 5 percentage points to 63 percent. The negative rating is the highest in nearly nine months, since 63 percent was recorded in the survey which was conducted in the fourth week of April last year.

According to the results of the National Barometer Survey (NBS) of 1,001 men and women aged 18 and older nationwide conducted by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research from January 22 to 24, 47 percent of the respondents answered Han is "doing a good job" as the PPP’s interim leader, while 40 percent said he is "doing a poor job.” On the other hand, 31 percent answered Yoon is “doing well” in national administration, which is down one percentage point from two weeks ago. Those who said he is “doing a poor job" remained unchanged at 61 percent.

The increase in the negative ratings for Yoon seems to have something to do with the increase in negative public opinion about the first lady. In fact, in the survey conducted by Gallup Korea, the percentage of respondents who cited Kim's scandal as a reason for their unfavorable rating of Yoon increased by 7 percentage points, from 2 percent last week to 9 percent. This is the first time the percentage has exceeded 5 percent since mid-June in 2022, when the first lady was first mentioned as a reason for the president's unfavorable rating, according to the research company.

On the other hand, Han has garnered favorable public opinion by taking a nuanced stance against Yoon over Kim's allegation of accepting a luxury bag as a gift. "There was something for the people to worry about," Han said on January 19. He also dismissed Yoon’s demand for his resignation on the 21st, dispelling some of the perception that he is an “avatar of Yoon.” A member of the PPP said in a phone interview on the 28th, "The relationship between the ruling party and the government had seemed too vertical, so it could be that the people viewed the conflict positively."

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.