President arrives at Seongnam Airport Thursday

Set to tackle record-low approval rating

President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hye-kyung board Air Force One at Paris' Orly Airport on Wednesday (local time), wrapping up a state visit to France. (Yonhap)
President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hye-kyung board Air Force One at Paris' Orly Airport on Wednesday (local time), wrapping up a state visit to France. (Yonhap)

President Lee Jae Myung departed for home Thursday after completing a state visit to France. During the trip, Lee and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to maintain close coordination to ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. The two countries also agreed to each invest about 800 billion won ($598 million) in sectors including film over the next five years.

But a heavy load of domestic issues awaits the president back home. Among the tasks he must address immediately upon his return is formulating a response to the United States' request that South Korea send troops to the Strait of Hormuz. Other pressing issues include controversies swirling around his Cabinet nominees, a sagging approval rating, and negotiations over investment in the United States.

Lee is scheduled to arrive at Seongnam Airport on Thursday afternoon. He is expected to head to his residence in Hannam-dong to rest, though a possibility remains that he could go directly to Cheong Wa Dae to review domestic affairs.

Lee completed an 11-day, seven-night trip to the United States and South America on Aug. 3. He similarly went straight to Cheong Wa Dae to preside over a closed-door meeting on economic issues, including real estate policy and the stock market.

The most urgent issue is the Strait of Hormuz. Cheong Wa Dae has maintained that a decision on troop deployment "is still under review and nothing has been decided." But the situation appears to be moving quickly, with the Ministry of National Defense having dispatched a fact-finding team to assess conditions for a potential military operation.

If South Korea does move to send troops, it would need to submit a troop deployment consent bill to the National Assembly and complete other follow-up procedures. But some ruling party lawmakers have voiced caution, saying "the deployment issue requires careful consideration" — in effect calling for restraint. This suggests the process of submitting and passing such a bill in the Assembly could face difficulty.

Controversy surrounding Cabinet nominees is another burden weighing on the president. Among the nominees announced Aug. 30, Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won and Gender Equality and Family Minister nominee Yong Hye-in have faced a string of allegations. This has prompted the opposition party to demand their nominations be withdrawn.

Cheong Wa Dae maintains that public scrutiny through confirmation hearings should come first. But the possibility cannot be ruled out that Lee could decide to withdraw a nomination or replace a nominee if the controversy drags on.

The president's approval rating has recently fallen to its lowest level since he took office. How he manages the personnel controversy is expected to be a key variable in his overall governance.

Lee is also expected to accelerate negotiations over investment in the United States after his return. He may soon travel to the US to attend the UN General Assembly and meet with US President Donald Trump. There is speculation that he could work to settle major sticking points on US investment ahead of any summit.

The government is reportedly reviewing the Encina gas-fired power plant project in Texas ($22.3 billion) and the construction of eight nuclear power plants in the US ($120 billion), among other options, in response to US demands.

Real estate policy is another major flashpoint. There has been ongoing debate over the effectiveness of recent housing supply measures and the direction of tax policy. Amid this, the opposition party has taken issue with the government's real estate policy as a whole.

Lee faces the task of delivering results that the public can feel in real estate and livelihood issues, in order to reverse his declining approval rating.

Cheong Wa Dae senior official Sung Ki-hong said in a radio appearance Thursday morning, "It is true that we are giving serious thought to identifying why the once-high approval rating has been falling and what should be done about it."


sang@heraldcorp.com