South Korea’s Yoon faces becoming a ‘lame duck’ as nepotism claims, wife’s gaffes hit ratings

Name: Who is South Korea’s newly elected president Yoon Suk-yeol and what are his plans?
Uploaded: 2022-07-18T00:30:24.000Z
Duration: 2 min 23 s
Description: Who is South Korea’s newly elected president Yoon Suk-yeol and what are his plans?

Political and personal controversies have dogged the new leader, with one poll showing his approval rating plunged from 53 to 32 per cent in five weeks

Reports of his ‘arrogant’ behaviour, policy missteps and financial irregularities involving his wife call his suitability for office into question, analysts say

4-MIN READ4-MIN

Yoon’s political appointments have also sparked allegations of nepotism. Photo: Reuters

Park Chan-kyongin Seoul

Published: 8:30am, 18 Jul 2022Updated: 4:39pm, 19 Jul 2022

Barely two months after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol took office, his support base has quickly dwindled as a lack of experience, accusations of a poor attitude, gaffes and various political and personal issues weigh on his approval ratings.

This could complicate his political agenda, especially in a parliament where the liberal opposition Democratic Party dominates his conservative People Power Party.

His approval rating plunged to 32 per cent from a high of 53 per cent five weeks earlier, according to an opinion poll last week by Gallup Korea. Disapproval stood at 53 per cent, up 19 percentage points in the same five-week period.

Yoon’s approval rating could extend its decline, as he had barely two months to rally his base before his ratings began to tank.

02:23

Who is South Korea’s newly elected president Yoon Suk-yeol and what are his plans?

Approval ratings of South Korea’s presidents typically stand at 70-80 per cent during their early months in office, fuelled by high expectations for their new governments.