Presidential and Ruling Party Approval Ratings Drop Together... Opposition Steps Up Attacks Over Kim Yongbeom's Resignation and Minister Nominees

Lee's Approval at 37.3%, Democratic Party at 39%

People Power Party Fails to Benefit from Ruling Bloc's Decline

Jang Donghyuk Pushes for Parliamentary Probe and Special Prosecutor over ETF Policy

Rigorous Scrutiny Ahead for Kim Seungw

As approval ratings for President Lee Jaemyung and the Democratic Party of Korea both decline, the People Power Party is intensifying its offensive, targeting the resignation of Chief Kim Yongbeom and the upcoming second cabinet reshuffle. The party is pushing for a parliamentary investigation and a special counsel to hold those responsible for the single-stock leverage ETF policy, and has announced plans for rigorous confirmation hearings, scrutinizing Justice Minister nominee Kim Seungwon's alleged influence-peddling and Gender Equality and Family Minister nominee Yong Hyein's controversy over retaining her parliamentary seat.

According to a public opinion poll conducted by HanGil Research at the request of Polinews and KNA25 on August 30–31, President Lee's positive job performance was assessed at 37.3%. This marks a decline of 8.4 percentage points compared to the early August survey, and a drop of 20.6 percentage points from the 57.9% recorded in early June before the local elections.

The Democratic Party's approval rating also fell to 39%, leaving both the president and the party in the 30-percent range. The People Power Party's support similarly dropped to 24.3%, indicating that the defection of government supporters has not translated into gains for the PPP. Internal conflicts surrounding changes to party chapter heads and disciplinary actions by the Ethics Committee are viewed as hindering the party's ability to rally its base.

Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, is holding an emergency press conference on recent developments at the National Assembly on September 2, 2026. Photo by Dongju Yoon

The People Power Party has stated that it intends to scrutinize the policy process and assign responsibility in the wake of Chief Kim's resignation. On September 2, party leader Jang Donghyuk announced in a separate press conference that the party will push for a parliamentary investigation and a special counsel into the process of promoting the single-stock leverage exchange-traded fund (ETF) policy.

Jang urged that there should be a probe into whether there was involvement from the Blue House, the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Financial Services Commission, and other policy officials. He further called on Chief Kim to "definitely appear as a regular witness and reveal the truth during the National Assembly audit."

The opposition is also intensifying its vetting of ministerial nominees. The People Power Party claims that the nomination of Yong is being used as a "shield" to divert criticism from nominee Kim.

Nominee Kim has come under fire over allegations of soliciting approval for a COVID-19 treatment clinical trial. Kim was investigated on suspicion of lobbying the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to approve a particular company's clinical trial, and in December 2024 received a suspension of indictment (non-prosecution with reservation).

People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sanghyun stated, "Non-prosecution with reservation is neither 'no charge' nor 'not guilty,'" adding, "Allegations of influence-peddling against the Justice Minister nominee cannot simply be dismissed as political disputes." He emphasized, "The Justice Minister is responsible for setting the standards for investigation and prosecution and ensuring the fairness of law enforcement."

As for nominee Yong, the party is criticizing both her stated intent to retain her proportional representative seat after joining the cabinet and the organizational structure of the Basic Income Party. People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheolsoo remarked, "The leadership of the Basic Income Party is composed entirely of Yong's family, aides, and close associates," adding, "I don't see why taxpayer money should be spent on such a party."

Meanwhile, the aforementioned opinion poll was conducted nationwide targeting 1,038 men and women aged 18 and over, using 5.8% landline telephone interviews and 94.2% mobile ARS (automated response system). The margin of error is ±3.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 2.9%. For more details, refer to the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.