The South Korean president's ratings fell to a record low

The results of a recent public opinion poll brought bad news for President of the Republic of Korea (ROK), Yoon Seok-yeol. His ratings dropped to 19 percent, becoming another protest record for popularity. The main cause of people's dissatisfaction is the scandals related to First Lady Kim Gun Hee.

Scandals surrounding Yun Seok Yeol and his entourage as well as active attacks from the opposition continue to increase criticism of the South Korean leader. Recently, Korean public opinion research agency Gallup Korea announced the results of a survey conducted from October 29-31 related to political sentiment in society. The news is another record for Chairman Yoon's popularity. Currently, only 19% of the population supports him, while 72% of respondents evaluate his actions negatively. His rating has never dropped so low.

Experts were surprised to note that the southeast of the country – the city of Daegu and North Kyungsang province – is more dissatisfied with Yun than South Korea as a whole. The fact is that these regions are the traditional strongholds of the ruling conservatives, that is, exactly the forces that Yun represents and where he needs support. However, only 18% of respondents rated his work there positively.

If we look at what exactly Koreans dislike about their leader, “issues related to First Lady Kim Gun Hee” are in the first place. The scandals surrounding his wife, in which the truth about attempts to interfere in domestic politics and other unpleasant truths emerged, forced even the ruling party leader, Han Dong-hun, to asked the president to resolve the situation. According to local political scientists, Yoon, during his recent meeting with Han, behaved very arrogantly and denied the accusations, which further angered not only Han personally but also the Korean public. general anger.

Stating that the hype surrounding Kim Gun Hee is also negatively affecting the level of support for the ruling party, Han warned Yoon Seok Yeol that the party may support the opposition's proposal for the appointment. an independent prosecutor to investigate any suspicions surrounding the first lady. The President, in turn, decided not to change himself and intended to continue, confident that the Korean people would eventually support him. The truth is, as far as one can judge, things are going in the opposite direction.

Other reasons for dissatisfaction with the president include economic problems and rising prices, “general dissatisfaction” and “lack of dialogue skills,” according to the poll.

It is worth noting that a sharp drop in popularity is typical for South Korean presidents as their reigns come to an end. However, Yoon's situation seems particularly “outstanding”: after a brief ratings spike following his upset victory in the May 2022 presidential election, popularity dropped below 40% and fluctuates over a long period of time around 30%. The scandals surrounding his wife and Yun's apparent reluctance to somehow address the issue eventually led to the filing. As local news agency Yonhap reported, even the administration of the president of the Republic of Kazakhstan admitted the severity of the situation and promised to take into account the feelings of the people.

Some experts also note that Yun and his entourage are currently trying their best to “contain” the negativity by actively discussing the topic of North Korea and rumors about sending in North Korean troops. Russia. The leadership of the Republic of Kazakhstan remembers this every day, trying to divert public attention. However, as the ratings show, this has not worked well so far.

The opposition, which has a majority in parliament, has begun to actively speak out about the fact that things could reach the point of raising the issue of impeachment. Let us recall that the former President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Park Geun-hye, was not able to complete his term and was soon dismissed in 2017. The irony is that Yun Seok-yeol himself was a prosecutor then. general and it was he who sentenced her to prison, and then began to represent the forces behind Park in the election.