South Korean President Yoon's approval rating hits lowest since taking office; now is the time for him to take a ”collaborative” stance

The ruling party suffered a major defeat in the general election held on the 10th of this month, and according to polling company Gallup Korea, President Yoon Seok-yeol's approval rating has fallen to 23%, the lowest since he took office.
The South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh reported that "a sense of crisis is spreading within the ruling party, and voices are erupting calling for President Yoon to change the tone and attitude of how he manages the country."
They also asked who would be the best person to be the next leader, with Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, coming out on top. President Yoon and Chairman Lee will hold their first party leaders' meeting this week.
The general election on the 10th, which was positioned as a "mid-term evaluation" of the Yoon administration, was contested in single-seat districts (254 seats) and proportional representation (46 seats). Before the election, the opposition Democratic Party of Korea won 15 seats.
The LDP has 6 seats (including affiliated parties), while the ruling People's Power Party has 114 seats (same source). This means that the opposition parties hold a majority of seats in the Diet, creating a "twisted" situation. The focus is on whether this situation can be resolved in the general election.
As a result of the vote count, the People Power Party (including its affiliated parties) won 108 seats, and the Democratic Party of Korea won 175 seats (including the proportional parties in the opposition camp led by the party).
The result was a major defeat for the "power of the opposition." Although the opposition did not reach the 200 seats required to pass a bill to amend the constitution or impeach the president, they will still be able to hold the reins of power in the political arena.
The People Power Party took responsibility for the crushing defeat and appointed the head of the party, emergency response committee chairman Han Dong-hoon, Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, and senior presidential officials at the chief secretary level or above, excluding the National Security Council.
All of them announced their intention to resign. President Yoon commented on the ruling party's landslide defeat in the general election at a cabinet meeting held on the 16th, saying, "We must all humbly accept the public will that was revealed in this general election.
"I will adopt a more humble and flexible attitude, communicate more closely, and listen to the will of the people," he said. Looking back on the two years since he took office, he said, "I have only looked at the people and acted for the national interest.
Although he has set the right direction for national politics and done his best to implement it, he has not been able to bring about changes that the people can feel.
On the 19th, the polling company Gallup Korea announced the results of a poll, which showed that President Yoon's approval rating had increased by 11 points from the previous poll (March 26-28).
The approval rating for Prime Minister Abe dropped to 23%, the lowest since he took office. The lowest approval rating to date was 24% in August 2022. The most common reason for disapproval was the "economy, living standards, and prices" category.
The most popular answer was "lack of communication" (17%), followed by "arbitrary and one-sided" (10%). The party support rate for the People's Power dropped 7 points from the previous survey to 30%, while the Democratic Party of Japan was 10%.
The Democratic Party of Korea rose two points to 31 percent. The approval rating of the People Power Party hit its lowest since the Yoon administration took office. The survey was conducted on 1,000 people aged 18 and over nationwide from the 16th to the 18th.
The presidential office has refrained from commenting on the results of this opinion poll, but according to the South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh, a presidential office official said in an interview with the newspaper, "The president will carefully understand the will of the people and take appropriate measures to manage national affairs.
"I will try to reflect the will of the people," he said. Professor Choi Chan-ryeol of Yongin University told the newspaper, "The fact that his approval rating has fallen to the 20 percent range is due to the lame duck.
"We have to see that the crisis has come early. If President Yoon does not change his stance, the stock price could fall further."
As the results of opinion polls show, President Yoon has been communicating with the opposition party.
The party has been criticized for its lack of communication and its arbitrary and unilateral stance. Amid this, a meeting between Lee and the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Lee So-young, is expected to be held this week, with the aim of promoting "collaborative governance" (politics of cooperation).
Since taking office in August 2022, Lee has repeatedly proposed a meeting between the party leaders to President Yoon, but President Yoon has not responded.
However, on the 19th, President Yoon called Lee and said, "Let's meet in Yongsan (where the presidential office is located)." President Yoon responded, "I would like to meet frequently from now on and discuss national affairs.
He also suggested that they discuss the matter, to which Lee responded, "We also need to help the president with his work."
In an editorial dated the 20th, the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo said, "It may be a little late, but
Following the ruling party's crushing defeat in the general election, President Yoon said he wanted to "promote communication with a more humble and flexible attitude," the paper said.
"If that happens, the evaluation of President Yoon as 'arrogant' and 'lacking in communication' may improve to some extent."