South Korea's leader struggles amid lowest approval rating

Recording of Yoon meddling in election nomination process said to be a factor

As South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hit the halfway mark of his five-year term on Nov 11, he faces pressure from a record-low approval rate coupled with growing threats from the opposition to approve a Bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the First Lady.

Mr Yoon's approval rating fell to 17 per cent, according to a Gallup Korea poll released on Nov 8, marking an all-time low since the President took office in May 2022.

An official from the pollster said a recently surfaced recorded phone call between Mr Yoon and self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun worked as a key factor in the respondents' negative assessment of the President.

The opposition has claimed that the recording proves that Mr Yoon and First Lady Kim Keon-hee inappropriately meddled in the ruling People Power Party's candidate nomination process for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections.

Amid increasing uncertainties surrounding Mr Yoon and his administration in the domains of diplomacy, security and the economy, Mr Yoon has entered a period of lame-duck presidency, with the controversies involving his wife heavy on his shoulders, according to a political commentator.

"At the moment, Yoon has lost the much-needed momentum to manage state affairs - his administration has entered a vegetative state," commentator Park Sang-byeong said via phone.