Category: Politics-Korea

Another week and another record low for President Moon’s approval rate:

 President Moon Jae-in’s approval rating has reached an all-time low, while public disapproval of his performance also has hit its highest point, a poll showed Sunday.

In a Realmeter survey of 1,000 people aged 18 and over, conducted over Friday and Saturday, 34.1 percent of respondents supported Moon.

It’s the lowest approval rating since Moon took office in May 2017. The figure in the previous Realmeter poll released last Monday was 36.7 percent.

In the latest survey, 61.7 percent of respondents gave a negative assessment of Moon’s presidency, up from 59.7 percent from last week.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the ruling party realizes that the end of the Moon administration is nearing which means the potential of the conservatives winning the next election. If that was to happen no doubt the conservatives would look to start locking up their liberal political adversaries just like the Moon administration has done to them:

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Nak-yon is seeking to propose pardons for former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, who have been behind bars on corruption charges, to President Moon Jae-in.

“I will propose pardons for the two former presidents to President Moon Jae-in at an appropriate time,” Lee said during a New Year interview with local news agency Yonhap. Lee said the pardons of the two former presidents could be a way to promote reconciliation and overcome the ideological gap between conservatives and liberals.

“This year is the de facto final year for President Moon to practice policies, and this matter (of pardoning the two former presidents) needs to be solved at a right time,” Lee said. “I am seeking to propose it (to President Moon) apart from pros and cons from the supporters of the ruling bloc. … The party will have to play a more active role from now on.”

As former President Lee was sentenced to 17 years by the Supreme Court last October while Park is still on trial, a special pardon and suspension of sentence will be sought for each case, if President Moon pardons the two former presidents.

Korea Times

Something that is important to remember is that this is about more than just Presidents Park and Lee being locked up, there has been numerous journalists and conservative commentators prosecuted and locked up as well for speaking out against the Moon administration.

As expected Choo Mi-ae was made the scapegoat for the Prosecutor General fiasco even though she was likely taking all commands from the Blue House:

President Moon Jae-in accepted Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae’s previously offered resignation, Wednesday, following a recent court decision that granted an injunction to Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl against a ministry disciplinary committee’s order suspending him from duty for two months. 

Moon’s decision to replace the justice minister comes after months of calls from the public and opposition to dismiss the former five-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) who have been weary of the longstanding conflict between her and the top prosecutor. The Choo-Yoon conflict and political wrangling over the President’s push for prosecutorial reform have emerged as key factors that have significantly hurt public trust in the Moon administration. 

The presidential office announced a replacement for Choo, in addition to two other ministerial posts, in a briefing the same day. The President named DPK Rep. Park Beom-kye, a former judge, to replace Choo, who will continue to serve in the post until the confirmation hearing for Park. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but Choo was a good soldier for the Korean left so I am sure they will take care her even though they had to scapegoat her for failing to get Yoon Seok-youl removed.

More bad news for President Moon:

President Moon Jae-in’s approval rating has tied its all-time low, while public disapproval of his job performance has surged to the highest point so far, a poll showed Monday.

In the four-day Realmeter survey conducted on 2,008 people, aged 18 or older, nationwide till last Thursday, 36.7 percent of respondents supported the president, down 2.8 percentage points from the previous week.

Moon’s rating had fallen to 36.7 percent, the lowest since he took office in May 2017, in the second week of December and bounced back to 39.5 percent the following week in Realmeter’s tracking polls.

The proportion of those who gave a negative assessment of Moon’s presidency rose 2 percentage points to a record high of 59.7 percent.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

An impeachment of Yoon Seok-youl would have been a gift to Korean conservatives who could have argued that the Moon administration was trying to get rid of the prosecutor who was investigating their corruption:

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Saturday urged restraint in the ongoing feud with the state prosecution service, although a few in its ranks are calling for the impeachment of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl.   
   
Last Thursday, the Seoul Administrative Court reversed President Moon Jae-in’s two-month suspension of Yoon, leaving the DP divided about the next steps in the administration’s drive to tame the prosecution service.  
   
Some hardliners in the party, like Rep. Kim Doo-gwan, argued the DP should wield its large majority in the legislature to impeach Yoon — an action unprecedented in Korean political history that would inevitably generate a constitutional standoff.  
   
But cooler heads apparently prevailed, with DP Spokesman Huh Young on Saturday calling on members to “control” their emotions and refrain from positions that could further alienate the party from a public increasingly repelled by the administration’s war against Yoon.  
   
Impeachment proceedings against Yoon “could lead to a rejection by the Constitutional Court,” Huh wrote — in other words, they could fail spectacularly. He added the party should avoid action that might backfire and focus, instead, on building a stronger legal basis for prosecutorial reform.  
   
Yet the factor most instrumental in tempering the party’s antagonism towards the top prosecutor was a public statement from the president himself on Friday. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but the fact that the ruling party was considering impeaching Yoon could be an indication that they are worried that he will uncover more ruling party corruption.

The latest attempt to get rid of Yoon Seok-youl has failed once again:

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl was reinstated Thursday after a court granted an injunction against his suspension by the justice minister amid feuds over prosecution reforms and politically sensitive probes.

The decision by the Seoul Administrative Court amounts to a setback for Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, who has been at odds with Yoon for months.

On Dec. 16, the ministry suspended Yoon from duty for two months due to four counts of alleged misconduct, including the surveillance of judges hearing cases involving former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and some presidential officials. President Moon Jae-in immediately endorsed the order.

“I will do my best to defend the spirit of the Constitution, the rule of law and common sense,” Yoon said, expressing his thanks for the court’s decision.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Yoon is like a cat with nine lives; he keeps surviving every attempt the Moon administration tries to get rid of him. Just a reminder to everyone that the Moon administration has been trying to take out Yoon because he had the nerve to investigate corruption within the administration.

Since Yoon Seok-youl topped polls as the preferred next President of Korea, the Korean left has gone into overdrive to destroy him:

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae on Tuesday suspended Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl from his duty, in an unprecedented move amid a feud over prosecution reforms and various investigations involving Yoon’s aide and family members.

“The ministry has been investigating various allegations against the top prosecutor and found out some serious misconduct,” the justice minister said during a briefing.

As reasons to bar him from his duty and seek disciplinary actions, the minister cited what she called an “improper” meeting with media executives, the inspection of judges involved in controversial cases and interference with the prosecution’s investigations to protect people close to him. Also she said Yoon had impeded the ministry’s lawful probe by not responding to recent written investigation inquiries. 

“As the justice minister, who has the utmost authority to oversee the prosecution, I decided that it is not tolerable to let him continue his duty,” Choo said.

Shortly after the surprise announcement, Yoon called it “unfair” and said he would take legal action.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but everyone should not forget that Yoon was appointed by President Moon and has had a falling out with the administration because he would not stop the investigations into Blue House corruption.

Ever since then they have been trying everything they can to get him to resign since he is the only person standing in the way of the Blue House completely taking over the prosecution and thus protecting their political allies.

This response from the leader of the ruling Democratic Party shows that is exactly what this is:

Following the announcement, Rep. Lee Nak-yon, the chief of the ruling Democratic Party, said he was “shocked and disappointed” by the allegations raised against the top prosecutor. Lee urged Yoon to decide his position, apparently pressuring him to step down.

Korea Times

This is the tried and true tactic of throwing allegations at someone and then using the media to trash him in hopes it is enough pressure to get him to resign. We will see if this works with Yoon or not.

This news is only going to further motivate the Korean left to destroy Yoon Seok-youl:

 Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl has surpassed political heavyweights from the ruling Democratic Party (DP) to rank top in the latest popularity poll of prospective presidential candidates released Wednesday.

According to a survey of 1,022 people 18 years and older by pollster Hangil Research & Consulting, 24.7 percent said they support Yoon as South Korea’s next president.

Lee Nak-yon, chairman of the Democratic Party, ranked second with 22.2 percent, while Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, also affiliated with the party, came next with an approval rate of 18.4 percent, the poll said.

It is the first time that Yoon has topped the list of prospective presidential candidates in polls.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I wonder if they will find a way to put him in jail before the election? They are already pressuring him by trying to put his wife in jail.