With two months remaining until the June 3 local elections, support for the People Power Party (PPP) has fallen to its lowest level in about five years. Within the party, concerns have emerged that it may not even be able to recover election expenses, alongside calls for a change in party leadership.
According to a Korea Gallup survey conducted from the 31st of last month to the 2nd of this month among 1,001 eligible voters aged 18 and older nationwide (margin of error ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, mobile phone random digit dialing interviews), support for the Democratic Party of Korea (DP) rose from 46% last week to 48% this week. Meanwhile, PPP support fell from 19% to 18%.
Since the launch of the administration of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party’s support has reached its highest level, while PPP support has hit its lowest. The gap between the two parties widened from 27 percentage points last week to 30 percentage points this week. Gallup noted, “Since mid-August last year, the Democratic Party has hovered around 40% support while the PPP remained in the low-to-mid 20% range, but over the past month, the gap has steadily increased.”
The PPP’s 18% support marks its lowest level since the second week of November 2020. The 30-point gap between the two parties is also the largest since September 2020, when the United Future Party changed its name to the PPP.
Notably, PPP support in Seoul fell to a record low of 13%. The gap with the Democratic Party in Seoul widened to 38 percentage points—8 points higher than the national gap of 30 points.
Amid the party’s plunging approval ratings, a sense of crisis has already reached a critical level.
Rep. Bae Hyun-jin, head of the PPP’s Seoul chapter, wrote on Facebook: “Seoul at 13%. Candidates are hesitant to run because they fear they may not even recover election costs,” adding, “The central party has issued an SOS to the Seoul chapter after failing to find candidates in even one out of five district mayoral races.”
Under South Korea’s Public Official Election Act, candidates must receive at least 15% of the vote to be fully reimbursed for campaign expenses (10–15% qualifies for half reimbursement). With support in Seoul below that threshold, potential candidates are reluctant to enter the race.
Rep. Bae added, “The only way out of this situation seems to be replacing the PPP’s election leadership,” expressing hope for “the leadership of Jang Dong-hyuk to show commitment and make decisive choices.”
A lawmaker from the Seoul metropolitan area told Hankyoreh, “More than the 18% figure itself, the bigger problem is that with only two months left before the local elections, we are stuck in a slump with no clear momentum for a rebound,” adding, “Even if we raise the issue of leadership responsibility, there is no realistic alternative at this point.”
A lawmaker from the Yeongnam region said, “Ahead of the local elections, even internal disputes over candidate nominations have not been resolved, leading to approval ratings that are beyond recovery,” but added, “If the nomination conflict stabilizes, there may be an opportunity for a rebound.”
Further details about the survey can be found on the websites of Korea Gallup and the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.
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