"The situation is not normal throughout the nation, nor in Gyeonggi Province"…Democratic Party support rate hits record low since Lee's administration launch

The Democratic Party's support rate has reached a record low since the Lee Jae-myung administration launched. Party leader Kim Min-seok pledged within 100 days of taking office to boost party support by 10 percentage points, but support has instead declined, deepening concerns within the ruling camp.

In a survey conducted by Gallup Korea on voters aged 18 and older nationwide from October 6-8 and announced on the 9th, Democratic Party support was measured at 35%. This is a 5 percentage point drop from 40% in the survey from the third week of September, marking the lowest level since the current administration's launch.

In the same survey, People Power Party support fell 1 percentage point to 26%. Meanwhile, independents with no party affiliation increased 6 percentage points from 25% to 31%. The decline in ruling party support did not translate into a rise in opposition party support.

President Lee Jae-myung's positive job approval rating remained at its lowest level since taking office at 37%. Negative approval was 51%, with real estate policy, defense, security and North Korea issues, and prosecutorial reform cited as major reasons for disapproval.

The Democratic Party's support decline was more pronounced in the Seoul metropolitan area. In the Incheon·Gyeonggi region, Democratic Party support dropped 8 percentage points from 45% in the third week of September to 37% in the second week of October. Seoul also fell from 35% to 29% during the same period.

Notably, Incheon·Gyeonggi is considered President Lee's political stronghold. In this survey, President Lee's positive job approval rating in the Incheon·Gyeonggi region was measured at 36%.

Regional political circles are also facing multiple issues.

A prime example is the withdrawal of Representative Kim Seung-won, who represents Suwon District A, from consideration as Justice Minister nominee. Representative Kim saw the National Assembly personnel hearing report adopted under Democratic Party initiative on September 17, but withdrew two days later on the 19th amid controversy over various allegations.

The problem is that the personnel controversy involving Representative Kim expanded into accounting management allegations at the Gyeonggi Provincial Democratic Party.

While Representative Kim served as provincial party chairman, allegations emerged of so-called "salary payback" where party staff salaries were partially returned, as well as accounting fraud allegations including false meetings and improper business trip expenses, prompting the Gyeonggi Provincial Election Commission to receive related complaints.

Additionally, police investigations related to allegations of illegal party membership recruitment by Suwon Mayor Lee Jae-joon's associates have expanded to the Gyeonggi Provincial Democratic Party.

Police are investigating allegations that political appointees in Suwon City who are close associates of the mayor illegally recruited party members in preparation for internal party primaries ahead of the June 3 local elections. After receiving related complaints in March, police conducted a search and seizure at Suwon City Hall in May, and on the 7th conducted a search and seizure at the Democratic Party Gyeonggi Provincial Party office, securing party membership lists, documents related to membership registration, and digital data.

Controversy continues in Gyeonggi provincial affairs as well.

Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae declared a fiscal crisis after taking office in July and embarked on large-scale budgetary restructuring, but faces controversy over reduced livelihood budgets and the appropriateness of the fiscal crisis assessment. Issues regarding official residences and public conflict with government and ruling party figures have also emerged as political issues.

In particular, Governor Choo has revealed disagreements with the government and ruling party over personnel appointments such as that of Major Crimes Investigation Agency Commissioner nominee Kim Ji-yong, and conflict within the ruling camp appears to be intertwined with provincial administration.

Against this backdrop, Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok's goal of reversing support trends is also drawing attention. When taking office on August 17, leader Kim promised to raise the party's support rate by 10 percentage points within 100 days. However, some 50 days into his tenure, the Gallup Korea survey shows Democratic Party support at the lowest level since the administration's launch.

However, it remains unclear to what extent individual personnel controversies, Gyeonggi Provincial Party accounting allegations, and provincial administration conflicts have affected the recent decline in support. The fact that national policy dissatisfaction and regional political issues are appearing simultaneously suggests that future public opinion trends warrant close attention.

This survey was conducted through telephone interviews using wireless virtual numbers. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and further details can be found on the Central Election Poll Deliberation Committee website.