Lee Jae Myung’s Approval Rating Falls to 33.8%, Another Post-Inauguration Low... People Power Party Overtakes DPK After Two Months

[Financial News] A poll released on the 14th found that President Lee Jae Myung’s approval rating for his performance in office had fallen for nine consecutive weeks, reaching another post-inauguration low. In party support, the People Power Party overtook the Democratic Party of Korea after more than two months.
According to a survey conducted by Realmeter at the request of Energy Economy Newspaper among 2,515 people aged 18 or older nationwide from the 7th to the 11th, Lee’s favorable rating for his performance in office stood at 33.8%. This was a 3.6-percentage-point drop from the previous week.
The unfavorable rating rose 3.8 percentage points from the previous week to 63.3%. The gap between the favorable and unfavorable ratings was 29.5 percentage points, with the unfavorable rating remaining ahead outside the margin of error for seven consecutive weeks. Those who said they “did not know well” accounted for 2.9%.
Realmeter analyzed that, despite the president’s recent diplomatic engagements, controversy over cabinet reshuffle appointments, consideration of troop deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, and uncertainty over real estate policy had fueled negative public sentiment. It also assessed that the defections were particularly pronounced among progressives and people in their 20s.
The party support figures were also unfavorable for the ruling party. In a survey of 1,003 people aged 18 or older nationwide conducted from the 10th to the 11th, the People Power Party recorded 42.1% and the DPK 36.1%. This marked the People Power Party’s first lead over the DPK in more than two months, since the survey conducted on June 25–26.
The DPK fell 5.7 percentage points from the previous survey, while the People Power Party rose 4.5 percentage points. The gap between the two parties was 6.0 percentage points, within the margin of error.
Realmeter cited the burden of current government issues, including uncertainty over real estate policy and controversy surrounding cabinet appointments, as the reasons for the DPK’s decline in support. By contrast, it analyzed that the People Power Party benefited indirectly from controversies over government appointments, while support also consolidated among people in their 20s, residents of the Chungcheong region, and voters in the Busan–Ulsan–South Gyeongsang Province (PK) area.
The RKP recorded 4.7%, while the Progressive Party and Reform Party each recorded 1.3%. Undecided voters accounted for 12.2%.
The presidential performance approval survey had a margin of error of ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 4.5%. The party support survey had a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 3.6%. For more details, refer to the website of the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission.
[email protected] Seong Seok-woo Reporter