More than six in 10 South Koreans said Yong Hye-in is not fit to serve as minister of gender equality and family, according to a new poll. A majority also opposed sending troops to the Strait of Hormuz at Washington's request.
In the Gallup Korea survey of 1,000 adults aged 18 and older conducted from the 8th to the 10th and released on the 11th, 61% said Yong was not suitable for the post. Only 13% called her suitable, while 26% did not offer an opinion.
Negative assessments of Yong were especially strong among supporters of the People Power Party. Among them, 71% said she was unfit for the job, while just 4% said she was suitable.
Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won also drew more negative than positive reviews. Only 22% said Kim was fit to serve as minister, compared with 43% who said he was not.
On sending South Korean troops and assets to the Strait of Hormuz, 55% said the country should not deploy forces, while 32% said it should. In a March survey, 55% opposed a deployment and 30% supported it, leaving opposition dominant again this time.
By party, 69% of Democratic Party of Korea supporters opposed a Hormuz deployment, while People Power Party supporters were split, with 50% in favor and 36% opposed.
On President Lee Jae-myung's handling of state affairs, 38% gave a positive assessment, while 51% said he was doing a poor job, 13 percentage points higher than the positive reading. Compared with the previous week, the positive rating fell 2 percentage points from 40% to 38%, setting another low since he took office. The negative rating was unchanged at 51%.
In party support, the Democratic Party of Korea stood at 38% and the People Power Party at 29%. The Democratic Party was unchanged from the previous week, while the People Power Party slipped 1 percentage point from 30%. The New Reform Party drew 3%, and the Rebuilding Korea Party and the Progressive Party each drew 2%. Those with no party preference accounted for 26%.
The survey was conducted through interviews by telephone operators using randomly selected virtual mobile numbers provided by the country's three wireless carriers. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and the response rate was 9.4%. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.
