People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik poses for a photo with former President Park Geun-hye at her private residence in Dalseong-gun, Daegu, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]
People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik poses for a photo with former President Park Geun-hye at her private residence in Dalseong-gun, Daegu, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik visited former President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday to thank her for campaigning on the party's behalf during the June 3 local elections. The meeting came amid a concurrent drop in the PPP's approval ratings among voters in the Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province region and among conservative supporters. Some analysts say the visit was aimed at rallying the party's wavering traditional base.

Jeong called on Park at her private residence in Dalseong-gun, Daegu. He was accompanied by Rep. Yoon Yong-geun, chief of staff to the floor leader, and Rep. Yoo Young-ha, a close aide to Park. The visit was arranged at Jeong's request after he was elected floor leader in June, according to sources.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Jeong said he had conveyed an invitation for Park to attend a party lawmakers' retreat. "On behalf of our party's lawmakers, I delivered an invitation, saying we hoped the former president would attend the retreat in person and share her thoughts on the direction the party should take," he said. He added that Park responded by saying she would "consider it."

Jeong said the purpose of the visit was "to express gratitude to former President Park, who actively supported our party during the recent local elections and helped create an opportunity for conservatives to unite."

Park urged party unity despite its minority status, Jeong relayed. "Even though our party is a minority, if we join forces and make the public think, 'Still, this party alone is our hope,' our party will receive more support in the elections ahead," she said, according to Jeong.

People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik visits former President Park Geun-hye at her private residence in Dalseong-gun, Daegu, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]
People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik visits former President Park Geun-hye at her private residence in Dalseong-gun, Daegu, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

Within the party, there is hope that the visit will help lift approval ratings. The PPP has kept up its offensive against the government, targeting its real estate and tax policies, but has seen little political benefit. Support has instead been falling among both the Daegu-North Gyeongsang region electorate and conservative voters more broadly.

According to Realmeter, the PPP's approval rating stood at 40.6 percent in a survey of 1,001 adults aged 18 and older nationwide conducted July 23-24 (margin of error ±3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level; response rate 4.3 percent). In a follow-up survey of 1,004 adults conducted Thursday and Friday of last week (margin of error ±3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level; response rate 3.5 percent), the figure had fallen to 33.1 percent — a third consecutive week of decline. (Source: National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website)

The party's approval rating in the Daegu-North Gyeongsang region plunged 20.3 percentage points from the previous week's survey, while support among conservative voters fell 10.2 percentage points. Amid the slide, party leader Jang Dong-hyeok is reportedly preparing a reform plan centered on empowering party members.


mp1256@heraldcorp.com