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President Lee Jae-myung enters the 1st Anti-Corruption Policy Consultative Council meeting of the Sovereign People's Government held at the Blue House on the 21st. The Anti-Corruption Policy Consultative Council, a ministerial meeting of relevant anti-corruption agencies designed to comprehensively promote the government's anti-corruption measures, was held for the first time on this day following President Lee's inauguration. / Yonhap News

As President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating hit a new low since taking office, the Blue House is seeking to turn the tide through a cabinet reshuffle and enhanced youth policies.

The Blue House is focusing on self-rescue measures with the determination to "tie its shoelaces again and run hard," carrying out a cabinet reshuffle larger than expected and unusually unveiling youth budget plans ahead of the announcement of next year's budget proposal. Attention is also focused on whether additional measures will be rolled out to revive momentum in state affairs.

According to a survey conducted by Realmeter on 2,509 adults nationwide from the 24th to the 28th at the request of the Energy Economy News on the 31st, positive assessments of President Lee's state administration dropped 1.3 percentage points from the previous week to 38.9%, marking the lowest level since his inauguration. Negative assessments rose 1.8 percentage points from the previous week to 58.7%, outpacing positive ratings by nearly 20 percentage points.

Recent opinion polls conducted by organizations such as Gallup Korea and Jowon C&I also showed President Lee's approval rating at its lowest since taking office.

Although President Lee emphasized his commitment to reform by reshuffling six ministries the previous day, concerns have been raised in some quarters that public sentiment toward the president could deteriorate further during the National Assembly confirmation hearing process.

Opposition parties, including the People Power Party, are already pouring criticism on Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won, nominated as Minister of Justice, calling it "an appointment aimed at dropping the president's trial."

Regarding Basic Income Party lawmaker Yong Hye-in, nominated as Minister of Gender Equality and Family, the opposition launched an offensive highlighting claims that she entered the National Assembly without contest via a satellite party and that her husband is an official in the Basic Income Party where Yong serves as floor leader.

Issues such as the "dismissal of indictments" and the "unfairness frame" are all cited as major factors behind the decline in President Lee's approval ratings.

For this reason, voices from both the opposition and ruling camps are calling on President Lee to directly and clearly state that he "will not pursue the dismissal of indictments or a constitutional amendment for consecutive terms."

The real estate issue, pointed to as the biggest reason for the decline in President Lee's approval ratings, poses another dilemma for the Blue House as it is difficult to produce short-term results.

Shin Yul, a professor of political science and international relations at Myongji University, said, "One might think that changing policies and showing results could raise approval ratings, but in reality, that is not how the public sees it."

Pointing to instances such as the government wavering over tax code revisions, Professor Shin emphasized, "Politics is a matter of perception. Rebuilding trust appears to be the most crucial factor."

Meanwhile, Realmeter's survey on President Lee's job performance rating (conducted via automated wireless response) had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 3.9%. Further details can be found on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.

                                                                                                             Hong Sun-mi