South Korean political parties are named after what they don’t have, as a longstanding joke has it - a joke that has more than a kernel of truth in the case of the People Power Party 국민의힘, which is acutely lacking in people’s support. According to an August 14 survey by Newstomato 뉴스토마토, 50.7% of respondents said they approved of legally disbanding the conservative opposition for its role in Yoon Suk-yeol 윤석열’s self-coup attempt.
Even the historically conservative-leaning Busan 부산, Ulsan 울산 and Gyeongsangnam-do Province 경상남도 region had a majority (54.4%) in favor of disbanding the PPP, as did Seoul 서울 (51.3%), Incheon 인천 / Gyeonggi-do Province 경기도 (50.9%) and Gwangju 광주, Jeollabuk-do 전라북도 and Jeollanam-do 전라남도 (72.5%).
It wasn’t a complete wipe-out for the PPP, however. Respondents wanting the party disbanded were in the minority in Daegu 대구 / Gyeongsangbuk-do Province 경상북도 (34.1%), Gangwon-do Province 강원도 (40.8%) and Daejeon 대전 / Sejong 세종 / Chungcheongbuk-do Province 충청북도 / Chungcheongnam-do Province 충청남도 (40.2%).
