64.2% Blame President Yoon for the Expo Failure, Diplomatic Skills Questioned

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Approval Ratings

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval rating has remained in the early 30s.

More than six out of ten people believe that the failure to host the 2030 Busan World Expo is due to the government’s lack of diplomatic skills, according to a recent survey.

In a regular opinion poll announced by Opinion Poll Flower on December 4, President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration received a positive rating of 33.7% and a negative rating of 63.9%.

The difference between the positive and negative ratings is 30.2 points, which is outside the margin of error. The positive rating remained the same as last week’s survey (announced on November 27). However, the negative rating increased by 0.3 points.

Looking at the results by region, the negative rating was higher than the positive rating in all regions. The difference between the positive and negative ratings in Daegu and Gyeongbuk (positive rating of 47.2%, negative rating of 51.1%) and Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (positive rating of 47.3%, negative rating of 50.8%) was within the margin of error.

The negative ratings in other regions were as follows: Gwangju and Jeolla 82.4%, Incheon and Gyeonggi 68.3%, Seoul 65.2%, Gangwon and Jeju 63.7%, Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong 62.2%.

By age, the negative rating was higher than the positive rating in all age groups except those in their 60s and those in their 70s or older. The positive rating for those in their 70s or older was 67.8%, which was higher than the negative rating of 27.4%. The difference between the positive rating (52.1%) and the negative rating (47.9%) for those in their 60s was within the margin of error.

The negative ratings for other age groups were as follows: 40s 86.3%, 30s 76.6%, 50s 75.6%, and 18-29 years old 62.9% in that order.

By ideological orientation, the negative rating among moderates was 70.6%. While 71.8% of conservatives gave a positive rating, the negative rating among progressives reached 92.4%.

Opinions on Failed Expo Hosting

When asked which opinion they agreed with more regarding the failure to host the 2030 Busan World Expo (Expo), 64.2% of respondents answered, “the result of diplomatic incompetence that failed to grasp the international political flow.” On the other hand, 27.9% believed, “Although the hosting failed, it is an incomplete success that confirmed the government’s power.”

Regarding the debate about filming the incident of the First Lady receiving an expensive luxury bag through a “sting operation,” 56.3% of survey participants believe the public interest justifies such investigations. In comparison, 34.2% oppose them, arguing against using sting operations.

Party Support Rates

In the party support rate survey, the People’s Power party received 30.1%, and the Democratic Party received 46.1%. The difference in support rates between the two parties was 16.0 points, which is outside the error range. The support rate for the Democratic Party remained the same as last week’s survey, and the support rate for the People’s PowerParty decreased by 0.9 points.

The Justice Party received 2.1%, and ‘supporting neither party’ was 18.9%. Opinion Poll Flower conducted this survey on December 1 and 2, targeting 1,014 adult men and women aged 18 and over nationwide. The company completed the survey using a computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) method with wireless virtual numbers from the three telecommunications companies. The sampling error stands at ±3.1 points with a 95% confidence level. On October 31, they applied the 2023 gender, age, and region weights (cell weights) based on the Ministry of Public Administration and Security resident registration data.

By. Kim Hong Jun