Park Sun-won on Approval Rating in the 30% Range: "A Warning from Public Sentiment"... "Rhyu Si-min's Remarks Are Emotional Outbursts, Not Commentary"

- Great atmosphere at the presidential dinner, time to pool our efforts together
- Choi Min-hee said "Geuk-myeong (Extremely Pro-Lee)," so I suggested a love shot saying "Let's be Pro-Lee"
- Approval rating in the 30% range? A warning from public sentiment that nothing has improved
- Rhyu Si-min's remarks are an emotional outburst, not commentary... perceiving it as his own defeat
- Just enter politics directly... it would be more candid to reveal political plans
- Shin Jang-sik says "No intention of joining a hodgepodge coalition"? But jabtangbap (mixed seafood rice) tastes great...
- We will discuss solidarity and merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party within a large party-to-party framework
- Our party's line is centrist-reformist... recruiting moderate-conservative figures as well
- Kim Min-seok urged prudence, asking members to clearly state personal opinions
- Dropping indictments? Evidence of fabricated indictments has surfaced; follow-up action by the prosecution is desirable

■ Broadcast: SBS Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show (FM 103.5MHz 7:00 – 9:00)
■ Date: August 27, 2026 (Thu)
■ Host: Attorney Kim Tae-hyun
■ Guest: Park Sun-won, Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party of Korea

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: A poll showed that the President's approval rating has fallen into the 30% range for the first time since taking office. Let's hear how the Democratic Party leadership diagnoses this situation. We have Park Sun-won, Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Welcome.

▶ Park Sun-won: Hello. I am Park Sun-won.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Congratulations, lawmaker.

▶ Park Sun-won: Thank you.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: You have taken on a heavy responsibility at a very critical time. Right now is truly the most crucial period for the ruling party, in its second year in power.

▶ Park Sun-won: Yes.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: First of all, the new leadership had a dinner meeting with the President the day before yesterday. How was the atmosphere?

▶ Park Sun-won: The atmosphere was good. It was very serious as well; the President spoke, and we conveyed our commitment to performing well. After all, we are the ruling party. So we expressed our resolve to work responsibly as the ruling party and ensure the President does not face difficulties in running state affairs because of us. Leader Kim Min-seok and the other Supreme Council members all shared this stance.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: The scene that drew the most attention was the "love shot" between you and lawmaker Choi Min-hee, talking about who is truly pro-Lee. Looking at that scene, some might think, "I'm so glad," while others might wonder, "Did they really reconcile?" What are your thoughts?


▶ Park Sun-won: The context behind that was that the President had previously invited three candidates who ran for party leader. I asked what candidate Jung Chung-rae said back then. When candidate Song Young-gil came out after meeting the President, I asked, "Candidate Song, what did you talk about?" He replied, "I can't say. Everything discussed with the President is strictly confidential. I cannot talk about it."

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: That is understandable.

▶ Park Sun-won: I told him, "That's true, but please share just one word." He then said, "Candidate Jung Chung-rae complained and criticized me a great deal." So I asked, "Why criticize again?" He answered that Jung complained he was bashed and criticized too much during the primary race. The President reportedly said, "Please offer an apology." So candidate Song Young-gil apologized.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: I see.

▶ Park Sun-won: After hearing that story, I thought, since the leadership candidates cleared their tensions from the primary, shouldn't we do the same?

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Indeed, the two of you had a fierce contest, right?

▶ Park Sun-won: Yes. And she kept describing herself as "Geuk-myeong." Lawmaker Choi Min-hee kept using the word "Geuk-myeong."

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: If it's "Geuk-myeong"...

▶ Park Sun-won: "Geuk-myeong" means "extremely pro-Lee (Jae-myung)."

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Extremely. "Geuk-myeong."

▶ Park Sun-won: "Extremely pro-Lee." So I said, "Let's not make things complicated; since we are all pro-Lee, let's share a drink for pro-Lee." Then Leader Kim said, "Why don't you two do a love shot?" That is how it happened.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right.

▶ Park Sun-won: We need to pull our strength together diligently. This is not the time for us to bicker among ourselves. The primary within the ruling party should pass as a tempest in a teapot, and our duty is to navigate through the storms facing the daily lives of the South Korean public.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: You say it is not the time to fight among yourselves, and typically, after a party convention, there is a convention bounce where both presidential and party approval ratings rise. But recently, the President's approval ratings have been continuously declining. Yesterday, it entered the 30% range for the first time since inauguration.

▶ Park Sun-won: Yes.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: This is an automated response system (ARS) mobile phone poll conducted by Jowon C&I at the request of Straight News from August 22 to 24. For more details, refer to the National Election Survey Deliberation Committee website. Positive evaluation was 38.9%, negative evaluation was 57.9%. These are quite concerning numbers.
[Survey on presidential job performance conducted by Jowon C&I at the request of Straight News from August 22 to 24, 2026 (3 days); margin of error ±2.2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Conducted via wireless ARS automated response system among 2,001 adults nationwide aged 18 and older]

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Commentator Kim Ou-joon and author Rhyu Si-min had previously warned that if it hits the 30s, there would be no easy answer, and yesterday it reached the 30s. It has been less than a month since the national convention.

▶ Park Sun-won: Yes.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: How do you analyze the cause of this?

▶ Park Sun-won: As the saying goes, public sentiment is even more important than polling figures. We take the current public sentiment very seriously. Beyond what is expressed in numbers, the President also continuously emphasizes that an effect is not real unless felt directly. Even if stock prices rise numerically, export figures grow, and our exports for June and July surpass Japan's to reach 100 billion dollars, if individual citizens feel, "Why is my life like this? Why is it so hard for me? Why hasn't anything improved for me?", then naturally the ruling party, the President, and the government must take responsibility.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.

▶ Park Sun-won: With such a heavy responsibility—a responsibility that the President feels with solemn gravity—it is not just about abstract tangible results. As he puts it, there must be "empirical evidence." There must be empirical evidence for people to support our administration. Especially having emerged from an almost revolutionary situation involving insurrection, the public naturally holds higher expectations. In that context, when statistics say everything is going well, people ask, "What about me?" That is the first factor.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right.

▶ Park Sun-won: Second, it comes down to police and public safety, which everyone experiences as a personal issue. Will I be able to sleep comfortably tonight? Will anything happen to me? And if something happens, will the police, who are said to have grown stronger, really be able to help me? That issue, along with the economy—where exports and national wealth have grown on paper, but the benefits have not yet trickled down—intertwines to produce this amplified atmosphere and reaction in public sentiment. We view this very sincerely and gravely.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: In this situation, the sharpest criticism of the President would normally come from the main opposition People Power Party, but stronger criticisms have instead emerged from within the progressive camp. Author Rhyu Si-min, regarding the national convention...

▶ Park Sun-won: He is not part of the ruling camp.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right, from the progressive camp, the democratic-progressive camp.

▶ Park Sun-won: Well, people call it the progressive camp.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Even after the national convention ended, his rhetoric has intensified. Comparing the President to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, he made harsh remarks such as calling him an "arrogant power holder," saying "the Democratic Party has lost its mind," and calling Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik "ill-bred." The expressions are quite harsh.

▶ Park Sun-won: A commentator should maintain a minimum level of objectivity and distance, but it seems as though he perceives the outcome of this party leadership primary as his own defeat.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: As the defeat of candidate Jung Chung-rae, whom he supported?

▶ Park Sun-won: Unless one views it as a personal defeat, it is hard to become this emotional. He is turning seventy soon. I do not consider such commentary to be genuine political analysis; it is an emotional outburst. What is that emotional outburst rooted in? I believe he is taking it as his own defeat.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: The primary outcome, you mean.

▶ Park Sun-won: Furthermore, regarding the election of the ruling party leader, the President refrained from uttering even a single word about the convention to avoid any perception of party intervention. Far from doing it intentionally, he went on an overseas tour from July to August 3 for 10 nights and 11 days, achieving results abroad. Calling the election of a party leader a "monarchy" under these circumstances is absurd and incorrect. That is false information.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Looking at your recent social media post, you wrote, "What do you seek to gain by driving wedges into the affairs of another party and the administration?"

▶ Park Sun-won: That is correct.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Do you believe author Rhyu Si-min has a specific political calculation? You probably don't think he is doing this merely out of venting anger.

▶ Park Sun-won: He sought to exert influence over what he calls the democratic-progressive camp, and he did so.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: And that was thwarted?

▶ Park Sun-won: But he perceived the result as his own defeat. Because the defeated side cannot easily engage in direct confrontation right now, and our party is seeking harmony, he seems to feel a self-imposed duty to step up and provide strong backing. I wish he would look at such obligations from a broader perspective.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right.

▶ Park Sun-won: I do not understand why he used such expressions toward Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik. Their lives and career paths have barely overlapped. In that sense, his remarks lack objectivity. It is not as if he has concrete evidence based on past shared activities with Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik to justify concluding that Kang is unfit.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: So it is criticism merely for the sake of criticizing?

▶ Park Sun-won: Is it really commentary to simply say, "You are ill-bred"? I wish he would express himself more boldly—announcing his political platform from the perspective of a specific party or faction, or revealing what future political plans he holds. Stating that would be much more candid.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: You mean he should rather re-enter politics directly? For example, by joining the Rebuilding Korea Party.

▶ Park Sun-won: Mentioning the Rebuilding Korea Party might be going too far on my part. But if he intends to play the role of a politician, he should simply practice politics. Hurling phrases like "a party that has lost its mind" in every direction is hardly standard commentary language. Moreover, claiming that the President established a party leader like a "monarchy"—when the President did not speak a single word about the convention and went on an overseas tour during its early stage—what kind of monarchy is that?

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Understood. Leader Kim Min-seok is putting forward various new initiatives. There is also an integration proposal with the Rebuilding Korea Party, whether through solidarity or merger.

▶ Park Sun-won: That is correct.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Regarding that, Shin Jang-sik, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, remarked, "Are you envisioning a hodgepodge coalition like Japan's Liberal Democratic Party? I have no intention of joining such a hodgepodge alliance." Furthermore, former leader Cho Kuk said, "We will field candidates in the districts of lawmakers Lee Eon-joo and Kang Deuk-gu in the next general election." There seems to be some lingering resentment.

▶ Park Sun-won: Yes, it seems quite a bit has built up. Regarding solidarity with the Progressive Party, we agreed to actively pursue it, and we suggested lawmaker Jin Sung-joon take charge of that channel. Regarding the Rebuilding Korea Party, lawmaker Lee Hae-sik maintains amicable relationships and shares a connection with leader Cho Kuk, so we suggested opening a channel whether for solidarity or merger. However, leader Shin Jang-sik's initial response was as you described. Since they are a counterpart party and our position is to cooperate, I will frame this positively: saying "it must not become a hodgepodge" may be a bit exaggerated, but while jabtangbap (mixed seafood rice) is indeed delicious, he seems to hold a preconceived notion that a hodgepodge is undesirable. We agree it shouldn't be a hodgepodge.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.

▶ Park Sun-won: Let us pursue an orderly merger or solidarity—solidarity as solidarity, merger as merger. In doing so, I want to say that we should respect one another under all circumstances and strive for the common good.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Jabtangbap is delicious. I like it too. Perhaps the reason leader Shin Jang-sik used the term "hodgepodge" is related to Leader Kim Min-seok's recent remark: "We will recruit fresh and competent figures across the entire spectrum, from the progressive-reform camp to the moderate-conservative camp." This seems aligned with the "structural majority" the President mentioned. It suggests encompassing not just the left, but also extending all the way to the right.

▶ Park Sun-won: Yes.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: It seems he is criticizing this moderate-conservative expansion as a hodgepodge, like an LDP-style "one-and-a-half party" system.

▶ Park Sun-won: Well, I majored in Japanese politics in graduate school, and the LDP is not that kind of party. Solidarity and merger—as Leader Kim approached Rebuilding Korea Party leader Shin Jang-sik to discuss—constitute a massive and organizational endeavor. Furthermore, regarding recruiting moderate-conservative figures, why wouldn't there be good people among moderate conservatives? There are many.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: For example? Do you have anyone in mind?

▶ Park Sun-won: A prominent example would be Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kwon Oh-eul.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: He has already joined.

▶ Park Sun-won: Yes, someone who has already joined. How great are figures like him? Another example would be Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-gwan.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: He is a business executive.

▶ Park Sun-won: We have business figures. Whether they have corporate backgrounds or are professional professors, the proposal was to recruit from the moderate-conservative sphere. If there were a moderate-conservative political party and we merged or formed an alliance with them, while simultaneously forming an alliance with the Rebuilding Korea Party, then the Rebuilding Korea Party could rightfully call that a hodgepodge.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right.

▶ Park Sun-won: But that is not the case. With the Rebuilding Korea Party, we expressed an active intent to pursue solidarity or merger properly within a more organized, party-to-party framework. Meanwhile, recruiting moderate-conservative figures simply expresses a desire to bring in respected individual talents.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: So you mean it is not about political realignment with the Reform Party or the People Power Party?

▶ Park Sun-won: Not at all. That is completely out of the question. If their warning was made with such concerns in mind, cautioning our party against doing so, then we will respect and take that feedback accordingly.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Do you have specific individuals in mind whom you would like to recruit?

▶ Park Sun-won: Since we are not in a general election period, rather than recruitment, there are certainly people with whom we can work broadly. Why wouldn't there be? Our party's line is centrist reform.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Understood. Regarding the Special Prosecutor Act on Fabricated Indictments, there is a proposal to grant the special prosecutor authority to dismiss indictments. Senior Spokesperson Park Sung-joon mentioned this with the caveat that it was a personal opinion, while Supreme Council Member Han Min-soo expressed in an interview with me that this requires cautious consideration. What is your view on this?

▶ Park Sun-won: Leader Kim Min-seok's policy is that when expressing personal views on any matter, one must clearly state that it is a personal opinion, and that individuals in responsible positions should speak more prudently. Therefore, I will refrain from answering directly. During the recent parliamentary audit on fabricated indictments, clear evidence of fabricated indictments was revealed for anyone to see. The most desirable outcome would be for the prosecution to take internal follow-up measures regarding those fabricated indictments. Furthermore, if a special prosecutor's investigation yields evidence of fabricated indictments, corresponding measures will naturally follow. That is my view.

▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Understood. We will conclude our interview here. We have been speaking with Park Sun-won, Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Thank you.

▶ Park Sun-won: Thank you.

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※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.