Source: Ddanzi

What happened

On the Aug. 10 Kim Eo-jun’s News Factory broadcast — archived on Ddanzi — Real Meter chief Lee Taek-soo and commentator Park Si-young reviewed President Lee Jae Myung’s sliding approval, the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) touring primary before the Aug. 17 convention, and an eight-way supreme committee contest. They linked the president’s drop to real-estate tax reform, criminal-procedure law fights, Tuesday’s cabinet approval of abolishing prosecutors’ supplementary investigation powers, Wednesday’s military-academy “6.4 coup” remark, heat, and a KOSPI break below 6,300 that triggered a sell-side circuit breaker on Thursday.

The breakdown

President vs. party: Real Meter put Lee at 43.3% approval (−2.6 points, a fourth weekly fall) and 53% disapproval (+2.5). DPK party support was 44.6% — above the president. News Factory’s poll showed the same split: phone approval 53.8% vs. disapproval 45.2% (8.6-point gap, first under 10 since inauguration); ARS approval 47.1% had flipped negative the prior week. Party support there was 47.9%. Lee Taek-soo cited a Friday daily print of 41.2%.

Park said “doing very well” ratings fell to 28.7% on ARS after routinely topping 30%. Both guests argued the fierce DPK primary is draining the usual party–presidential shield.

Leader race: After Gangwon and Daegu–North Gyeongsang, Song Young-gil took 7% — down — with Park saying lost share shifted to Kim Min-seok. Jeong Cheong-rae narrowly led among DPK supporters in phone data for the first time; the top two are now neck-and-neck.

• Seoul: Jeong 31.7%, Kim 20.1% (phone); ~10 points last week too.
• Honam: Phone gap 4–5 points for Kim; ARS 25–30 points — the segment’s key split.
• Gender: Women lean Kim; men lean Jeong.
• Song’s second choices: Phone 58% Kim / 17% Jeong; ARS 67% / 14%.

Lee Taek-soo still rated Kim 5.5 to Jeong 4.5 with preferential voting.

Supreme committee: Choi Min-hee led; Choi, Seo Mi-hwa, Park Seon-won, and Han Min-su looked stable for 1–4. Fifth place is a toss-up between Kim Yong and Lee Seong-yoon under a 30% poll / 70% member mix.

Why it matters outside Korea

Foreign investors and Korea-policy watchers often track headline approval alone. Here, a president at 43.3% while his party sits at 44.6% during a leadership primary signals weaker party–Blue House coordination on prosecution reform, real-estate rules, and market-sensitive bills. The Honam phone-vs.-ARS gap could decide whether Jeong’s Seoul lead matters or Kim’s preferential-vote edge holds.

What travelers and expats should watch

• Convention week through Aug. 17: louder rallies in Seoul, Honam, and Gyeonggi; occasional traffic near venues — plan commutes, not a security change.
• Campaign vs. enacted law: prosecution-power abolition cleared cabinet but remains contested; do not treat TV fights as finished statutes.
• Honam voting: ballots are cast before Honam results publish; English headlines anchored on Seoul may miss the deciding bloc.
• Market mood: guests tied approval drops to KOSPI’s 6,300 break — relevant if you hold KRW assets or work in local finance.

Context

Read this as decoupled approval plus a primary still open on how Honam votes, not “Lee is finished” or “Kim has won.” The transcript’s insight is the 4–5 vs. 25–30 Honam gap between phone and ARS — that spread, not one national number, could crown or bury Jeong’s Seoul lead. Supreme committee 5th place (Kim Yong vs. Lee Seong-yoon) flags faction balance after Aug. 17.

Source

Ddanzi archive: News Factory Aug. 10 poll segment with Lee Taek-soo (Real Meter) and Park Si-young — Korean transcript; figures attributed to broadcast guests; primary still in progress at publication.