Chuseok mood gap: Kim Min-seok vows to focus on livelihoods, Jang Dong-hyeok says public wants 'breakup' with president

The ruling and opposition parties returned to Yeouido after the chuseok holiday showing sharply different readings of public sentiment during the break. With the national audit set to begin Oct. 6, the political battle lines are expected to widen across security and economic issues.

Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok, speaking Monday at the party's first supreme council meeting since the holiday, said the chuseok break had been a time to listen to the public. "The people's demand is clear: focus first and foremost on delivering results for their livelihoods, and the party will faithfully follow that call," he said. He also said President Lee Jae Myung's press conference held just before the holiday — which he described as candid and humble — had drawn widespread praise and encouragement from the public.

Kim also addressed the controversy surrounding Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae's refusal to resubmit a judicial nominee, saying public criticism of Jo had been intense. "We will take seriously the public's view that properly correcting the judiciary's violations of the Constitution and the law is the foundation of 'K-democracy,'" he said.

The People Power Party, meanwhile, sharpened its attacks on the government. PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok told the party's supreme council meeting Monday that the chuseok public mood had been unambiguous. "People said they cannot endure even three more months, let alone three more years," he said. "The public has made up its mind to break up with President Lee."

On the suspected landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone, Jang demanded full disclosure of what President Lee had been told and what orders he had issued from the time North Korean troops crossed the MDL in June through the present. "If the president ordered a cover-up of the incident, that would be clear grounds for impeachment," he said.

A Realmeter survey conducted for the Energy Economy newspaper from Tuesday to Wednesday among 1,508 adults aged 18 and older nationwide found that positive assessments of President Lee's job performance rose 3.1 percentage points from the previous week to 37.9 percent. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level, with a response rate of 3.8 percent. The result marks two consecutive weeks of gains after the approval rating reversed a 10-week slide the week before.

Realmeter said the improvement was driven by Lee's public press conference and his diplomatic tour, which included the UN General Assembly and a summit with the United States, as well as public appreciation for signs of personnel renewal — including the voluntary withdrawal of Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won and the resignation of Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik.

A separate party approval survey of 1,005 eligible voters aged 18 and older conducted Wednesday and Thursday found the Democratic Party at 38.7 percent and the PPP at 39.4 percent, with the PPP edging ahead of the ruling party within the margin of error for the first time in two weeks. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level, with a response rate of 3.5 percent. For further details, visit the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.