President Lee's Job Approval Turns Negative for the First Time in Gallup Poll

Democratic Party 41%
People Power Party 25%

A public opinion poll has revealed that, for the first time since President Lee Jaemyung took office, the disapproval rating of his job performance has surpassed the approval rating.

According to Korea Gallup, which conducted a nationwide survey of 1,000 adults from August 11 to 13, 44% of respondents expressed a positive view of President Lee’s job performance, while 46% gave a negative assessment. Korea Gallup announced these results on August 14. President Lee’s approval rating fell by 8 percentage points compared to the previous survey (3rd week of July), marking a new low.

Yonhap News Agency

This is the first time since President Lee’s inauguration that the disapproval rating has exceeded the approval rating. Earlier this year, President Lee’s approval remained in the 60% range until late May, but began a downward trend in the 50% range after the Ninth National Simultaneous Local Elections held in June. The timing of this reversal is later than that of former President Yoon Suk-yeol (about two months after inauguration), but somewhat earlier than former President Moon Jae-in (one year and seven months after inauguration) and former President Park Geun-hye (one year and four months after inauguration).

The primary reasons cited for negative assessments were real estate policy (30%) and the economy/livelihood issues (13%). For positive assessments, foreign affairs (19%) and the economy/livelihood issues (15%) were cited. By demographic and age group, support was stronger among Democratic Party supporters (79%) and those in their 40s and 50s (mid to late 50% range). Negative assessments were higher among People Power Party supporters (84%), independents (55%), those in their 20s (48%), and those in their 30s (49%). Among moderates, positive and negative ratings were similar, at 43% and 45%, respectively.

The approval rating for the Democratic Party stood at 41%, a decrease of 3 percentage points from three weeks prior. The People Power Party posted 25%, up 2 percentage points. Other parties garnered 3% for the Innovation Party, 2% for the Cho Kuk Reform Party, 1% for the Progressive Party, and independents accounted for 28%.

Regarding the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, which abolished the prosecutors’ supplementary investigation authority, 50% of respondents stated it was the "wrong thing to do," while only 27% evaluated it as the "right thing to do." The results showed evenly divided opinion only among respondents in their 40s and 50s, while disapproval of abolishing the supplementary investigation authority prevailed among all other age groups.

When asked about the impact of the recent tax reform proposal on the real estate market, 45% responded that it would have a “negative effect,” while 24% said it would have a “positive effect.” Excluding Democratic Party and progressive supporters, all other demographic groups predicted the tax reform proposal would have a negative impact on the real estate market.

In a Korea Gallup question about what state would make people “feel that the housing market has stabilized,” 33% answered “when long-term rental of homes (jeonse or wolse) is possible even without purchasing a home,” 30% said “when apartment prices in Seoul fall overall from current levels,” and 24% answered “when home prices neither rise nor fall sharply.”

This survey was conducted via wireless telephone interviews, with a response rate of 9.7% and a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more detailed information, please refer to the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.