[Poll Poll News] President Lee Jaemyung's Approval Rating Returns to 40% Range After 7 Weeks... Views Split on Jo Hee-dae Impeachment

Gallup Regular Poll
Economic Optimism at Lowest Level Since Current Administration Took Office
Stock Market Decline Forecast Outpaces Rise Forecast by 6 Percentage Points

A poll found that President Lee Jaemyung's approval rating rose slightly, returning to the 40% range for the first time in seven weeks. Opinions were closely divided, within the margin of error, on impeaching Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae. Optimism about the economy fell to its lowest level since the current administration took office.

According to a regular poll released by Gallup Korea on Oct. 23 (conducted by Gallup Korea itself among 1,001 people aged 18 or older nationwide from Oct. 20 to 22 through interviews conducted by interviewers via mobile phones; the margin of error was ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and the response rate was 10.6%), 40% gave a positive assessment when asked whether President Lee was doing a good job as president, while 50% gave a negative assessment. The positive rating rose 1 percentage point from the previous week, while the negative rating fell 2 percentage points.

Gallup said, "'Doing a good job' was the more common assessment among supporters of the Democratic Party of Korea (76%) and those with liberal views (67%), while 'doing a bad job' was more common among supporters of the People Power Party (89%) and conservatives (76%)." It added that negative views also prevailed among independents with no preferred political party (21% positive to 54% negative). Among moderates (40% to 47%) and women (43% to 43%), positive and negative assessments were relatively close, but negative assessments were more common among men (36% to 57%).

President Lee Jaemyung speaks at a pan-governmental response meeting on building an ultra-safe society at Cheong Wa Dae on the 23rd. Yonhap News.

In party support, the Democratic Party of Korea came in at 37%, the People Power Party at 28%, the Rebuilding Korea Party at 3%, the Reform Party at 2%, and independents at 27%. Support for the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party each rose 1 percentage point from the previous week.

Regarding recent political controversies, including the proposed impeachment of Chief Justice Jo, 34% of respondents said they supported impeachment. A total of 39% opposed it, while 28% withheld their opinion. Among moderates, support for and opposition to impeachment were tied at 34% each. Notably, about half of independents with no preferred political party (47%) and people in their 20s (56%) withheld their opinions.

The poll also asked respondents about their views on the economy. Asked about the country's economic outlook for the next year, 27% expected conditions to improve, 40% expected them to worsen, and 28% thought they would remain about the same. Gallup said, "Economic optimism held a slight lead for the six months through the first half of this year, but pessimism edged ahead starting in July," adding that "optimism about the economy has hit its lowest level since the current administration took office."

On the outlook for the KOSPI, 30% expected it to rise from its current level, 36% expected it to fall, and 19% expected no change. In January this year, the share expecting a rise (45%) was 20 percentage points higher than the share expecting a fall (25%). As recently as August this year, expectations for a stock market rise (37%) were 8 percentage points higher than expectations for a decline (29%). But in just two months, expectations for a stock market rise have weakened, with the share expecting a decline now 6 percentage points higher.

For more details about the poll, visit the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

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