President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating falls to 38.9%, down for 7 straight weeks and the lowest since taking office [Realmeter]

[Financial News] A poll released on the 31st showed that President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating for state affairs fell for seven consecutive weeks, dropping into the 30% range for the first time since he took office.
According to a survey commissioned by Energy Economy Newspaper and conducted by Realmeter from the 24th to the 28th among 2,509 voters aged 18 and older nationwide, Lee's positive rating for state affairs stood at 38.9%. That was down 1.3 percentage points from the previous week.
The negative rating rose 1.8 percentage points over the same period to 58.7%. The gap between positive and negative ratings was 19.8 percentage points, outside the margin of error, while 2.5% said they did not know.
By region, the Daejeon, Sejong and Chungcheong region saw the sharpest decline, with positive ratings falling 8.5 percentage points. Declines were also seen in the Jeolla and Gwangju area, down 4.1 points, and in Daegu–Gyeongbuk, down 1.0 point.
By age group, people in their 50s recorded the largest drop, down 7.5 percentage points. Positive ratings also fell among those in their 40s by 3.1 points, those in their 60s by 1.9 points, and those aged 70 or older by 1.6 points. In contrast, the 30s age group saw a rise of 8.8 percentage points.
Realmeter said the downward trend continued as public sentiment worsened over housing prices and rent issues, while controversy over the alleged unconstitutionality of refusing to appoint a Supreme Court Justice nominee, distrust of the police following a missing-person case in Jeju Province, and internal friction within the ruling bloc over remarks by Rhyu Si-min all added to the pressure.
In the party approval survey, both the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party edged up slightly.
In a survey of 1,006 voters aged 18 and older nationwide conducted on the 27th and 28th, the Democratic Party of Korea rose 1.2 percentage points to 43.1%. The People Power Party inched up 0.1 point to 37.7%. The gap between the two parties was 5.4 percentage points, within the margin of error.
The Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP) followed at 4.4%, the Reform Party at 2.6%, and the Progressive Party at 1.4%. Undecided respondents, or those with no preferred party, accounted for 9.0%.
The surveys were conducted by automated response system using wireless random digit dialing. The response rate for the presidential approval survey was 3.9%, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.0 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The party approval survey had a response rate of 3.7% and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. More details are available on the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.
[email protected] Choi Jong-geun Reporter