President Lee's approval rating rises 2 percentage points to 46%; disapproval stands at 44% [NBS]

[Financial News] Results from the National Barometer Survey (NBS), released on the 29th, showed that President Lee Jae Myung's job approval rating had risen 2 percentage points from two weeks earlier to 46%.
According to a survey conducted from the 26th to the 28th by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research International and Hankook Research among 1,000 people aged 18 and older nationwide, 46% gave a positive assessment of President Lee Jae Myung's performance in office, saying he was ‘doing well (very well + well).’
The share who said President Lee was doing a poor job in office stood at 44%, down 5 percentage points from the previous survey. The positive rating was 2 percentage points higher than the negative rating, numerically, but the gap was within the margin of error.
In a separate question about the direction of the administration, 46% said it was ‘headed in the right direction,’ while 45% said it was ‘headed in the wrong direction.’
In party preferences, the Democratic Party of Korea came in at 36% and the People Power Party at 25%. Compared with the previous survey, the Democratic Party rose 3 percentage points and the People Power Party fell 3 percentage points, widening the gap between the two parties from 5 to 11 percentage points. The Rebuilding Korea Party had 3%, the Reform Party 2% and the Progressive Party 1%, while 31% were undecided.
Views on major issues were divided. Opposition to impeaching Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae stood at 45%, higher than the 34% in favor. On relocating central government agencies to Sejong, 55% were in favor and 32% opposed.
Regarding economic conditions, 88% said current price levels were a burden. Some 53% expected the job market to worsen, while 32% thought it would remain much the same and 11% expected it to improve.
The 69% who said fuel tax cuts should be extended outnumbered the 19% who said they should not be extended.
The survey was conducted by telephone interviews using mobile phone virtual numbers (100%). The response rate was 14.7%, and the margin of sampling error was ±3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. More details are available on the National Barometer Survey and Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission websites.
[email protected] Seong Seok-woo Reporter