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| President Moon Jae-in at an event at Cheong Wa Dae last week Yonhap |
Public trust waning due to aide's scandal and diplomatic bunglings
By Do Je-hae
Public sentiment toward President Moon Jae-in is becoming noticeably negative in light of various setbacks at home and abroad, with negative assessments of his job performance exceeding 50 percent, for the first time since he took office in May 2017, in a weekly Realmeter survey.
The survey published Monday showed that 50.4 percent of respondents thought Moon was doing a bad job in the third week of August, marking a 4.1 percent increase from the previous week. The pollster said the biggest reason for this was the escalating political row over one of his most trusted aides, Cho Kuk. The rival parties agreed to hold a two-day confirmation hearing from Sept. 2 for the justice minister nominee who is at the center of a widening scandal over allegations of corruption and unethical behavior involving himself and his family members.
The rising negative assessment of Moon was seen in most age groups and even in regions that have been a stronghold of the ruling party. In particular, the scandal has affected the sentiment of people in their 20s who have supported the President's vision for reform of society by promoting equality and transparency in all sectors, particularly the judiciary.
In the aftermath of the mounting suspicions of university admission-related irregularities involving Cho's daughter, more people are showing their disapproval of Cho as the appropriate person to spearhead judiciary reform.
The scandal has also affected the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) with its approval rating dropping to the 30 percent range for the first time in six weeks, while the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) is on a rebound.
Cheong Wa Dae said it would comment on the scandal after Cho gives explanations at the Assembly confirmation hearing, saying that some of the allegations were exaggerated.
In addition to the Cho scandal, which could have a crippling effect on his leadership, Moon has also faced a range of diplomatic problems that have contributed to the negative assessment of his performance.
Some political parties have linked Moon's recent decision to pull out of a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan to the Cho scandal, saying that Cheong Wa Dae was trying to draw attention away from it with the surprise announcement.
"The LKP is raising groundless concerns about national security," DPK Chairman Lee Hae-chan said.
The General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) withdrawal has triggered a negative reaction from both Japan and the U.S. And although some Koreans support Moon's decision, it has sparked widespread concerns of weakened trilateral security cooperation amid continued North Korean military threats by ending the agreement that was signed at the initiative of the U.S. in 2016, and renewed every year since with the mutual belief that it contributes to maintaining regional peace. "It is extremely regrettable that the two issues are being linked," Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said last week.
Moon is also facing growing criticism for the increasing rift in Korea-U.S. alliance. Washington has openly expressed its displeasure at the GSOMIA withdrawal. This follows the Trump administration's increasing pressure on Seoul to increase its share of the cost of maintaining U.S. troops in ongoing negotiations.
The President's cherished North Korea policy is also facing deadlock with Pyongyang continuing its provocations and publicly bashing the Moon administration. Moon's recent call for a "peace economy" has given the impression that he is out of touch with reality.
