Ruling party's self-inflicted crisis

Lee Jun-seok, the suspended chairman of the ruling People Power Party / Newsis

Suspended leader vows court battle as President Yoon continues to lose popularity

By Jung Min-ho

After two consecutive election wins for president and local offices, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) has found itself in a self-inflicted "emergency" that will only get worse as faction leaders vow to continue to fight despite President Yoon Suk-yeol's abysmal approval ratings.

Suspended PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok is at the very center of the party's internal conflict.

Under the 37-year-old leader, the party won the executive office in March and a majority of local offices nationwide three months later. It was a stunning comeback from the party's near-death experience following the scandal that brought down former President Park Geun-hye just five years ago.

Lee's future in the party looked more promising until the PPP's ethics committee on July 8 suspended him from his position and party affairs for six months over allegations of having accepted sexual services in return for political favors and destroying the evidence. With other PPP leaders, including floor leader Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, set to establish an emergency committee for new leadership, Lee is now at risk of losing his post permanently.

Speaking to reporters, Lee said he will file for an injunction to stop the process. In a statement Friday, he refused to back down, saying he will rectify what's wrong about the party before "their cowardice" brings it back into a crisis.

Yoon, Kweon and other politicians close to the president are among the people Lee was referring to. The conflict between these factions surfaced after the recent revelation of Yoon's text message to Kweon, in which the president called Lee a party leader who is "pointing guns inwards at us."

The news surprised many largely for two reasons: the fact that Kweon ― who recently stirred up controversy for using his influence to help one of his acquaintances get a job at the presidential office ― is so close to Yoon that they exchange phone messages instantaneously, and that the president is behind the smear campaign against Lee.

President Yoon Suk-yeol / Newsis

In the midst of this infighting, the popularity of the president and the party have plunged. According to a poll released Friday by Gallup Korea, Yoon's approval rating reached its lowest point yet of 24 percent, a further slide from 28 percent the previous week. The approval rating for the PPP dropped by 2 percent to 34 percent, which fell below that of the Democratic Party of Korea (39 percent) for the first time since Yoon was inaugurated in May.

After just 80 days in office, Yoon's approval rating had hit 28 percent in a survey conducted by the same pollster. What's astonishing is that the decline in popularity has occurred despite ― not because of ― the opposition party, which has been struggling with its own problems such as factional infighting between Rep. Lee Jae-myung and those opposed to him.

Experts say Yoon's approval rating may fall even further as he continues to show ineptitude in winning over the minds of the public. Lowering the school entry age for children and relieving debt for struggling people in their 20s and 30s have been among the examples of Yoon's policies that have alienated people who voted for him. It would take political acumen and creativity to turn this current around, which, it appears, he isn't equipped with.

All this bodes ill for the PPP's factional infighting, which may well prove to be more destructive than many think. Despite the disciplinary action taken against him, Lee remains popular. A poll released July 14 after the ethics committee's decision shows that 22.9 percent of respondents said they would support Lee as the party's next leader, followed by Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo (20.9 percent) and Na Kyung-won (12 percent), a former lawmaker. Lee was more popular among people in their 20s, of whom, more than 33 percent said they would support him. Among men in their 20s, nearly half said Lee would be their first choice.

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