[Polpol News] President Lee’s NBS Approval Rating Unchanged at 43% After Press Conference

NBS Poll Results

55% Say Chief Justice Should Consult with President and Nominate a Different Candidate

64% Believe 1.19 Million Public Housing Units Will Not Be Supplied

Despite last month's press conference and other events, a new poll shows that public evaluation of President Lee Jaemyung's administration remains unchanged from three weeks ago. The results also drew attention as a majority of respondents said that, amid controversy over the re-nomination of a Supreme Court justice, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court should consult again with the president and recommend a different candidate.

According to the latest National Barometer Survey (NBS) released on October 1 by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research—which was conducted with 1,000 adults nationwide through wireless telephone interviews from September 28 to 30, 2026, with a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level and a response rate of 18.8%—43% of respondents gave a positive assessment ("very good" or "good") of President Lee's administration, while 50% gave a negative assessment ("very bad" or "bad"). Compared to the survey three weeks ago, the positive evaluation remained the same, but the negative evaluation increased by 2 percentage points.

The NBS explained, "By ideological orientation, the positive assessment was higher among progressives, while negative assessment was higher among conservatives. Among moderates, 49% responded positively and 46% negatively."

Regarding the overall direction of state affairs, 43% said the country is "headed in the right direction" ("very" or "mostly"), while 50% replied it is "headed in the wrong direction" ("very" or "mostly"). Compared to the survey conducted five weeks ago (the fourth week of August), the opinion that the country is on the 'right track' dropped by 5 percentage points, while the view that it is on the 'wrong track' increased by 5 percentage points.

Yonhap News Agency

On party support, the Democratic Party of Korea (Minjoo) recorded a 35% approval rating, down 4 percentage points from three weeks prior. The People Power Party remained at 25%. The Rebuilding Korea Party received 3%, the Reform New Party 2%, and the Progressive Party 1%. Approval that the Democratic Party is performing well as the ruling party stood at 32%, a sharp decline from 53% in the fourth week of March. Meanwhile, 25% of respondents said the People Power Party is fulfilling its role well as the main opposition, a 9 percentage point increase from the fourth week of March.

This survey also included questions on current issues.

First, regarding the government's policy to supply 1.19 million units of public housing by 2030, 64% of respondents expressed a negative outlook, stating that the target "will not be achieved." Only 26% believed that it "will be achieved." On the introduction of abortion medication, 50% said they "support" (strongly support/support), while 41% expressed "opposition" (strongly oppose/oppose). However, regarding health insurance coverage for abortion medication, support was at 45% and opposition at 49%, falling within the margin of error.

Regarding the Chief Justice's refusal to propose the same candidate for Supreme Court justice as requested by the president, 55% of respondents answered that "the Chief Justice should consult again with the president and recommend a different candidate." Meanwhile, 34% said "the president should appoint the candidate recommended by the Chief Justice."

For more detailed information regarding the poll, refer to the website of the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

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