(EDITORIAL from Korea Herald on Sept. 14)

President Lee Jae Myung now confronts a wider political crisis as his approval rating has dipped below the 40 percent mark for the first time since his inauguration in June 2025. According to a Gallup Korea poll, his current approval stands at 38 percent. The administration's poor performance across various issues appears to be the primary cause of this decline.

One of the administration's key nominees, Rep. Yong Hye-in, the head of the newly appointed Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, has been criticized for her intention to retain her proportional representation seat in the legislature. This has sparked strong opposition and allegations of nepotism and party funding. Her withdrawal from the Cabinet was announced on Sunday, following a significant drop in support from 61 percent of respondents judging her nomination negatively to just 13 percent positively.

Another nominee, Kim Seung-won, who is nominated for the position of justice minister, is also facing scrutiny. Although he maintains that his public interest petition against the Food and Drug Safety Ministry regarding the approval procedure for a COVID-19 treatment was justified, his parliamentary confirmation hearing is still pending. The justice minister must have enough public credibility to oversee an institution whose authority is heavily dependent on trust and confidence from the public.

The president's declining approval rating indicates that the margin for error is rapidly shrinking. Economic and housing concerns are already affecting public sentiment, and declining support from moderates and younger voters further reduces the administration's political cushion. The cabinet nominations and the government's handling of critical national-security decisions, such as the potential deployment of naval forces to the Strait of Hormuz, expose a deeper weakness in the administration's vetting process.

The public is concerned about the technical defensibility of these arrangements and how they will be perceived by ordinary voters.

Moreover, the debate over constitutional reform, particularly regarding presidential term limits, remains unresolved. If the reform is intended to reshape future presidencies, the incumbent president should make his position on its application to his own tenure clear. The weakening approval rating suggests that the administration's credibility is being tested and that public trust is already thinning.

The president must address these personnel disputes and policy missteps promptly to preserve the political capital required to tackle the challenging work ahead.