Poll: 44% say “fresh faces” lack political capacity

Feb 06, 2020, 09:33 am

By AsiaToday reporter Lim Yoo-jin

According to a new AsiaToday poll, 44% of South Koreans say they have little hope in fresh faces’ political capacity, while 67% believe that scouting of political newcomers affects the political sphere.

The regular opinion poll, conducted on Wednesday by R&Search on behalf of AsiaToday, finds that 43.8 percent believe new faces recruited ahead of this year’s April 15 general election lack political capacity. Only 33.8 percent of respondents said political newcomers have political competence. A relatively high number of respondents (22.9 percent) reserved judgment. While more than half of respondents in their 20s and 30s view fresh faces’ political capacity in a negative light, more than half of respondents in their 40s view positively. “Many people in their 20s and 30s are skeptical about scouting fresh faces due to recent recruitment controversies,” R&Search said.

67.3 percent of respondents said that scouting had an impact, with 27.9 percent of respondents saying there was a high impact and the remaining 39.4 percent saying there was an impact. On the other hand, 29.3 percent of respondents said that scouting had little or no impact at all. Only 3.4 percent of respondents were uncertain.

44.6 percent of respondents said new members were used in gaining attention. On the other hand, 42.1 percent of respondents said it was an opportunity for new faces to join the political sphere. More than half of respondents in their 20s and 30s said the parties focused more on gaining popularity through the new faces choosing to put on a show of caring minorities. On the other hand, for those in their 40s and over, 48.7 percent answered that it was an opportunity to join the political world.

There were mixed views on President Moon Jae-in’s management of state affairs. While 49.7 percent gave a negative rating to the Moon administration’s handling of state affairs, 46.3 percent gave a positive rating. All groups, excluding those in their 40s, those living in Honam, Gyeonggi and Incheon, and those supporting the ruling Democratic Party (DP), gave more negative assessments than positive ones.

The approval rating for the ruling DP stood at 39.5 percent, leading all other parties. The approval rating for the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) stood at 25 percent, followed by the minor opposition New Conservative Party with 5.3 percent, the minor opposition Justice Party with 3.6 percent, and Bareunmirae Party with 3.3 percent.

The poll surveyed 1,036 people aged 18 or over on February 4. It has a 95 percent confidence level with plus or minus three-percent error.

#AsiaToday poll #scouting #fresh face #R&Search; #Moon Jae-in