President Lee’s approval rating hits record 67% since inauguration, surpasses 60% even in TK

[The Financial News] A poll released on the 20th found that President Lee Jae Myung’s approval rating for his handling of state affairs has reached its highest level since he took office.
According to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea Research Institute from the 17th to 19th on 1,004 people aged 18 and older nationwide, 67% positively evaluated President Lee’s performance in office, up 1 percentage point from the previous poll. This is the highest figure on record.
President Lee’s approval rating has been on a steady rise since it reached 58% in the first week of February, and it set a new record in this latest survey. The share of respondents saying he is "doing a poor job" stood at 25%, up 1 percentage point from the previous poll, while 8% withheld judgment.
In the first week of March, President Lee’s approval reached 65%, matching the previous record high set in the first week of July last year. It then climbed to 66% in the second week and 67% in the latest survey, breaking the all-time high.
Among those with a positive view of his performance, the most common reason cited was "the economy and people’s livelihoods" at 17%. This was followed by "overall doing well" at 10%, and "communication" and "diplomacy" at 9% each.
For negative evaluations, "the economy, livelihoods, and high exchange rate" ranked first at 18%. This was followed by "real estate policy" and "overall doing a poor job," each at 8%.
By region, President Lee’s approval exceeded 60% across all areas. The Gwangju–Jeolla region was highest at 87%, followed by the Daejeon, Sejong and Chungcheong region at 71% and the Busan–Ulsan–Gyeongnam region at 69%. Seoul and the broader capital area including Incheon and Gyeonggi Province recorded 63%, and even Daegu–Gyeongbuk (TK), known as a conservative stronghold, came in at 63%.
By age group, support topped 70% among those in their 50s (77%) and 40s (76%), while it stood at 47% among those in their 20s.
By political ideology, 94% of progressives and 72% of moderates positively assessed President Lee’s performance. Among conservatives, the figure was around 42%.
In terms of party support, the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) registered 46%, while the People Power Party (PPP) stood at 20%. Compared with the previous survey, support for the DPK slipped by 1 percentage point, while the PPP was unchanged. The Rebuilding Korea Party recorded 3%, the Reform Party (RP) 2%, and the Progressive Party 1%. Those with no party affiliation accounted for 27%.
The survey was conducted through live interviewer calls to randomly generated mobile phone numbers. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, with a contact rate of 40.6% and a response rate of 13.1%. Further details are available on the website of the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission.

cjk@fnnews.com Choi Jong-geun Reporter