Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik and Senior Political Advisor Woo Sang-ho. The mission to raise presidential approval ratings could ignite distrust in the regime and democracy. Hanmi Ilbo Graphics

Senior Political Advisor Woo Sang-ho's public statement that "the goal is to steadily raise the President's approval rating to the 60% range before Chuseok" has revealed that the Presidential Office has set political objectives and managed them through the civil service organization.

His revelation that Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik "directly assigned the mission" has raised suspicions that the rebound in approval ratings was not merely a natural shift in public sentiment but a managed outcome.

In opinion polls released immediately after the statement, the President's approval rating indeed reached the 60% range.

Given that the approval rating had fallen to the low 50% range just ten days prior, the sudden rebound has drawn criticism that the government's management, rather than the autonomy of public opinion, was at play.

While pollsters cited the "outcomes of the ROK-US summit" as the reason for the rebound, subsequent analyses suggested that the media's excessive praise of the summit as a diplomatic achievement influenced respondents' perceptions, despite the lack of substantial agreements or documents.

The core issue lies in the violation of civil servants' duty of political neutrality.

The Constitution and laws strictly prohibit civil servants from engaging in partisan politics. However, the neutrality is shaken the moment a Presidential Office aide states that achieving a specific approval rating is a mission to be carried out.

This is not merely a public relations strategy but a serious matter that could lead to legal responsibility debates.

Senior Political Advisor Woo Sang-ho's Confession of a Management Mission Sparks Controversy Over Violation of Civil Servants' Political Neutrality

On September 3rd, Advisor Woo Sang-ho appeared on SBS Radio's "Joo Young-jin's News Direct" and, in response to a question from the host, stated, "My goal is to quickly recover the President's approval rating and steadily push it above 60%. This must be achieved before Chuseok. It's a mission given by the Chief of Staff."

This statement is recorded as an admission by a high-ranking Presidential Office official that he directly mentioned an approval rating target and intended to achieve it through the civil service organization.

The NBS poll released immediately after this statement (announced on September 5th) recorded an approval rating of 63%.

With the approval rating rebounding in a short period from a low in the early 50% range just ten days earlier, the Presidential Office's "goal of the 60% range before Chuseok" was precisely met.

Pollsters commonly cited the "outcomes of the ROK-US summit" as the backdrop for the approval rating rebound. However, the summit lacked concrete achievements such as a joint statement or agreement.

Some interpret this as a result of the media extensively promoting a narrative of "diplomatic achievements," which then influenced the perceptions of respondents.

The assessment is that a circular structure was created where diplomacy without tangible results was portrayed as successful through the media and subsequently validated through poll responses.

Structural problems within the opinion poll system itself are also being pointed out.

Political opinion polls must receive prior approval from the Election Commission's Opinion Poll Deliberation Committee before they can be publicly released.

In this regard, Kwon Hyuk-bu, former Vice Chairman of the Korea Communications Standards Commission, warned, "The National Election Commission possesses vast big data on voters' tendencies, party affiliations, ideologies, and more. The structure allows for the creation of desired outcomes based on how the sample composition is arranged. If the polling agencies and the Election Commission collude, the fairness and reliability of opinion polls are bound to collapse." He pointed out the possibility of the surveys themselves being manipulated.

The issue of civil servants' political neutrality is also being raised.

Article 2 of Article 7 of the Constitution stipulates the political neutrality of civil servants, and Articles 65 of the National Public Officials Act and Article 9 of the Public Official Election Act strictly prohibit civil servants from engaging in political activities or influencing elections.

The moment a political appointee from the Presidential Office states that they are working to achieve an approval rating rebound as a "mission from the Chief of Staff," it is tantamount to admitting that the civil service organization is being mobilized for the interests of a specific political force.

Legal Interpretation?

The Presidential Office may argue that this is simply part of their political activities aimed at policy promotion and public communication.

However, given that specific figures and deadlines were set and it was stated that civil servants would directly carry it out, there is a significant possibility that this could be interpreted as political interference violating the duty of neutrality.

If evidence of influence exerted on polling agencies or the Election Commission is found, investigations could expand on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act and abuse of power.

Ultimately, this incident is not merely about a rebound in approval ratings.

The fundamental basis of democracy has been shaken the moment the Presidential Office set approval ratings as a target to be achieved rather than a reflection of public sentiment, and publicly announced that civil servants were undertaking this as a mission.

Woo Sang-ho's statement has put the fairness of opinion polls, the credibility of the media, and the neutrality of civil servants to the test simultaneously.

The fact that the mirror of public opinion reflected by the public may be a managed figure reflecting the will of power rather than public sentiment carries significant implications.

Hanmi Ilbo awaits tips from industry insiders.

#HanmiIlbo #ApprovalRatingManagement #WooSangHo #KangHoonSik #PoliticalNeutrality #OpinionPoll #DistortionOfPublicSentiment #PublicOfficialElectionAct #DemocracyCrisis #MediaResponsibility