Photo: Acting President Han Deok-su. Credit: Yonhap.
The weak conservative presidential field is causing some on the right to advocate for a presidential run by Acting President Han Deok-su 한덕수 대통령 권한대행. Han’s supporters are hoping that the lifetime bureaucrat, who has served two stints as prime minister 국무총리 - once under the liberal Roh Moo-hyun 노무현 and the second time under Yoon Suk-yeol 윤석열 - could appeal to voters as a steady hand.
Han Deok-su’s approval ratings do not bear out that hope. In this week’s Gallup Korea poll, approval for Han as acting president was 41%, compared to 50% disapproval - better numbers than Yoon, but hardly earth-shattering. In polls of favored presidential candidates, Han comes in at 7%, no better than other conservative candidates such as Daeju mayor Hong Jun-pyo 홍준표 대구 시장 (7%), former Labor Minister Kim Mun-su 김문수 전 노동부 장관 (7%) and former People Power Party chairman Han Dong-hun 한동훈 전 국민의힘 당대표 (6%), all of whom trail distantly in the wake of Lee Jae-myung 이재명 (38%).
