Approval Rating Slips Into the 30% Range… Lee Jae-myung to Personally Address 'Second-Term Controversy'

With his approval rating having slipped into the 30% range, the presidential office said on the 8th that it is weighing plans for President Lee Jae-myung to personally address rifts within his support base and the controversy over a "second-term constitutional amendment" (a revision to the constitution that would allow the president to serve another term in office). The office pressed ahead with a cabinet reshuffle (an overhaul of ministerial appointments) aimed at renewing the government, but the approval rating failed to rebound. The presidential office believes the cracks within his support base are what fueled the decline. In an interview that day with the YouTube program "Kim Eo-jun's Humility Is Difficult: News Factory," Hong Ik-pyo, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, said, "We expected the rifts within the support base to ease once the party convention ended, but they still have not returned to where they were before, and that is the biggest problem." He went on to acknowledge, "The Democratic Party and the Lee Jae-myung government are in considerable difficulty."

Direct communication from the president is among the remedies being considered. Hong said, "The presidential office is mulling proactive efforts to soothe the wounded support base, as well as ways for the president to express his thoughts and philosophy, and his intentions regarding unity within the party, in a more direct manner." Delivering the message through an exclusive interview rather than a press briefing is also on the table, with Hong saying, "Everything is being kept open; we are reviewing it from the working level and drafting a proposal."

The core sticking point is the second-term amendment. The opposition is demanding that President Lee declare he will not seek a second term in order to prove his sincerity in pursuing the constitutional revision. Hong pushed back: "The presidential chief secretary said this is not possible under the current constitution, and the president made it clear he has never entertained such an idea, yet the controversy keeps growing, which is regrettable." He added that the president is expected to make his position clear by taking an opportunity to speak out directly.

Similar voices are being heard within the Democratic Party. The party leadership reportedly shares the view that the president, as the party directly concerned, should settle the matter swiftly so as not to invite unnecessary misunderstanding. On the 7th, Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok said in an address to the National Assembly as head of the party's negotiating bloc that "restructuring the power structure need only go as far as the people want it to," signaling his intent to pursue a realistically achievable constitutional revision. Both inside and outside the ruling camp, observers predict the president will state his position before the Chuseok holiday break.