President Lee Jae Myung’s Approval Rating Falls to 38%, Lowest Since Inauguration; Disapproval Cites ‘Real-Estate Policy and Personnel Appointments’ [Gallup Korea Research Institute]

[Financial News] A poll released on the 11th found that President Lee Jae Myung’s job-approval rating fell to 38%, setting a new low since his inauguration. His disapproval rating stood at 51%, remaining above 50% for the third consecutive week. Real-estate policy and personnel appointments were cited most frequently as reasons for disapproval.
According to a Gallup Korea Research Institute survey of 1,000 people aged 18 and older nationwide, conducted from the 8th to the 10th, 38% of respondents approved of President Lee’s job performance. That was down 2 percentage points from 40% in the first week of September and marked the lowest level since his inauguration. His approval rating has continued to decline, falling from 45% in the third week of August to 42% in the fourth week, 40% in the first week of September, and 38% in the latest poll.
The disapproval rating, reflecting the view that he is “doing a poor job,” was 51%. It rose to 50% in the fourth week of August and stood at 51% in both the first week of September and the latest survey. The gap between approval and disapproval widened to 13 percentage points. Eleven percent withheld an opinion.
By region, approval was low in Seoul at 29%, while disapproval reached 60%. In Incheon and Gyeonggi and in Daejeon, Sejong and Chungcheong, approval was 38% in each region, while disapproval stood at 51% and 50%, respectively. In Daegu and North Gyeongsang and in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang, approval was 34% and 35%, respectively, while disapproval was 54% in both areas. By contrast, approval was highest in Gwangju, South Jeolla and North Jeolla at 60%, while disapproval was 27%.
By age group, approval among those aged 18 to 29 was 31%, compared with 44% disapproval. Among people in their 30s, approval was 35% and disapproval 52%. The figures were nearly even among those in their 40s, at 45% and 46%, respectively. Among those in their 50s, approval was 45% and disapproval 50%. Disapproval was highest among people in their 60s, at 58%, while approval was 36%. Among those aged 70 and older, approval was 31%, compared with 56% disapproval.
Real-estate policy was the most frequently cited reason for disapproval, at 24%. It was followed by personnel appointments at 16%, the economy and people’s livelihoods at 10%, ethical issues and avoiding his own trial at 6%, and “generally doing a poor job” at 4%. In particular, the share citing personnel appointments rose by 7 percentage points from the previous week. The ongoing controversies surrounding recent ministerial nominees are seen as having weighed on the president’s approval rating.
Among reasons for approval, diplomacy ranked first at 19%. As diplomatic engagements continued, including the state visit to France, the share citing diplomacy rose by 6 percentage points from the previous week.
The Democratic Party of Korea’s support remained unchanged from the previous week at 38%, while support for the People Power Party fell 1 percentage point to 29%. The Reform Party stood at 3%, the Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP) and the Progressive Party each at 2%, and independents at 26%.
The survey was conducted through computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) using mobile-phone virtual numbers. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and the response rate was 9.4%. Further details are available on the website of the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission.
[email protected] Choi Jong-geun Reporter