Lee’s approval rating back in 40% range after 7 weeks... 40% positive, 50% negative [Gallup Korea]

[Financial News] A poll released on the 23rd found that President Lee Jae Myung’s job approval rating had climbed out of the 30% range to 40%. Positive responses rose and negative responses fell for a second straight week, bringing the rating back to the 40% mark for the first time in seven weeks, since the first week of September.
In a poll released that day by Gallup Korea Research Institute, 40% said the president was doing a good job, while 50% said he was doing a poor job. Compared with the previous poll, positive ratings rose by 1 percentage point and negative ratings fell by 2 percentage points. Another 10% gave neither a positive nor a negative assessment.
The poll was conducted from the 20th to the 22nd among 1,001 voters aged 18 or older nationwide.
Support for the two major parties rose in tandem. The Democratic Party of Korea gained 1 percentage point, from 36% to 37%, while the People Power Party also rose 1 point, from 27% to 28%. Those with no party affiliation accounted for 27%; the Rebuilding Korea Party was at 3%, the Reform Party at 2%, and the Progressive Party at 1%.
Among respondents who viewed the president positively, 21% cited foreign affairs. The economy and people’s livelihoods were cited by 14%, and communication by 7%.
Among respondents who viewed the president negatively, real estate policy (18%) was mentioned most often. It has remained the top reason for negative assessments since the fourth week of July. Other reasons included the economy and people’s livelihoods (16%) and national defense, security and North Korea (10%).
The poll was conducted through telephone interviews using randomly selected wireless-phone virtual numbers. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level; the response rate was 10.6% and the contact rate was 41.3%. More details are available on the website of the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission.
[email protected] Seong Seok-woo Reporter