Don't Miss

President Park’s approval ratings drop sharply

April 28, 2014

By Chung Min-uck

President Park Geun-hye has seen her popularity ratings slide due to the government’s incompetent handling of the sinking of the ferry Sewol, which is feared to claim more than 300 lives.

According to Realmeter, a local pollster, President Park received an average approval rating of 57.9 percent last week, a drop of 6.8 percentage points from a week earlier.

Park’s average approval rating for the week when the tragic accident occurred stood at 64.7 percent.

Realmeter said Park’s numbers have never fallen below 60 percent since March, indicating a serious setback.

Marking one of the deadliest maritime accidents in Korean history, 174 were rescued on the day the Sewol sank while 189 have been confirmed dead.

Originally, 476 passengers, mostly high school students, were onboard.

Public atmosphere of grief following the accident has partially turned into anger against the government for its slow and incompetent handling of the sinking.

The disaster also revealed problems within the government’s oversight of safety practices and communication between different branches.

“People’s discontent over the government has grown following the time-consuming rescue efforts, which led to the big drop in the approval rating,” explained the pollster.

Analyzing on a daily basis, Park’s approval rating once rose to over 70 percent when she met with the victims of the disaster on April 18, but experienced a gradual decrease scoring 56.6 percent on April 25.

“The reason why Park’s popularity rating increased to 70 percent was because of people’s expectations for a swift rescue,” said Realmeter CEO Lee Taek-soo, Monday. “But government’s moves failed to meet the expectations and the rating soon started to fall.”

Meanwhile, speculation has arisen that Park may make an official apology for the mishandling of the disaster.

Chung Hong-won, Park’s first prime minister, offered to step down Sunday, holding himself responsible and apologizing for the disaster.