[Political Landscape Insight] Stagnant Approval and Distant Unity...Kim Minseok's Leadership Put to the Test

Party Convention Conflicts Remain Unresolved
Confirmation Hearings Put Ruling Bloc at Disadvantage: "On the Defensive"
"The Ruling Party Reflects the Blue House... Must Restructure with Eyes on the General Election"

It has been nearly a month since Kim Minseok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, took office, but a rebound in approval ratings still appears distant. Upon taking his post, Kim operated the party in a Roman legion style by assigning party positions to most of its lawmakers, yet a drop in presidential approval ratings, ongoing parliamentary confirmation hearings, and internal factional conflicts have made it difficult for the party to reverse its approval trend.

According to a survey on party support released by Gallup Korea on September 11, the Democratic Party's approval stood at 38%, while the People Power Party was at 29%. President Lee Jaemyung's performance received a 38% positive evaluation and a 51% negative evaluation. President Lee's approval rating is now at 38%, marking the lowest since he took office according to Gallup surveys, and it is the first time it has fallen into the 30% range. The poll surveyed 1,000 adults aged 18 and older nationwide between September 8 and 10 via telephone interviews (with a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level). For more information, please refer to the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

Kim Minseok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is delivering the floor leader's representative speech at the 3rd plenary session of the 439th National Assembly (regular session) held at the National Assembly Main Hall on September 7, 202. Photo by Yoon Dongju

During the party convention, Kim pledged to increase the party's approval rating by 10 percentage points within three months of taking office, but the declining trend has continued. Even the conflicts that surfaced during the convention process have not been easy to resolve.

Jeong Cheongrae, Kim's former rival at the party convention, has recently criticized Kim's actions twice in public statements. Most recently, on September 9, Kim was caught on camera by a media outlet appearing to consider Jeong as a potential Seoul mayoral candidate in his notebook. In response, Jeong showed his displeasure, stating, "At the last workshop, you mocked me with the microphone, and now you're hitting me with your notebook?"

The ongoing parliamentary confirmation hearings also represent a major challenge for the ruling bloc. President Lee nominated Yong Hyein, a lawmaker from the Basic Income Party, as Minister of Gender Equality and Family, and Kim Seungwon, a Democratic Party lawmaker, as Minister of Justice. However, both candidates have become embroiled in controversy, making it difficult for the government to secure political momentum.

A Democratic Party lawmaker said, "During the confirmation hearing period, the Democratic Party finds itself mainly in a defensive position. Lawmakers like Han Donghoon are using provocative language to launch attacks, which temporarily worsens public opinion." Nevertheless, the lawmaker added, "We expect approval ratings may rebound after the confirmation hearings are over."

There are also concerns over conflicts within the progressive camp, such as with the Cho Kuk Innovation Party. The director of the Cho Kuk Innovation Policy Research Institute recently criticized the government's failure regarding single-asset leveraged ETFs, demanded an apology from the Democratic Party during the unification process, and has continually called out the ruling party and government on a daily basis.

A Democratic Party official commented, "The ruling party naturally benefits from the reflection of the Blue House, so there is a limit to how much the party can independently boost its own ratings. The party is supposed to support the Blue House when it performs well and provide checks when it does not, but the current emphasis on unity between party and government makes this difficult." The official continued, "For Kim, the only option is to reorganize the party with the 2028 general election in mind."

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