[Poll Poll News] President Lee's Approval Rating Sees 'Golden Cross' for First Time in 8 Weeks... Positive 46% vs. Negative 44%

NBS Poll
Positive Ratings Up 2 Percentage Points from Two Weeks Ago
Favorability: Democratic Party and Rebuilding Korea Party Down, People Power Party Up

A regular opinion poll has found that approval ratings for President Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party of Korea have edged up compared with two weeks ago. More respondents opposed than supported impeaching Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae.

According to the regular National Barometer Survey (NBS) released on Oct. 29 by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research, President Lee's job performance received a positive rating of 46% ("doing well," meaning "very well" or "well") and a negative rating of 44% ("doing poorly," meaning "very poorly" or "poorly"). The survey was conducted from Oct. 26 to 28 among 1,000 men and women aged 18 or older nationwide, using wireless telephone interviews. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and the response rate was 14.7%.

Compared with the poll conducted two weeks earlier, positive ratings rose by 2 percentage points, while negative ratings fell by 5 percentage points. This resulted in a golden cross, with positive ratings overtaking negative ratings, although the difference is within the margin of error. Positive ratings have exceeded negative ratings for the first time in eight weeks, since the second week of September, when the figures stood at 43% and 48%, respectively.

NBS said, "By political ideology, positive ratings were higher than negative ratings among liberals and moderates, at 74% and 52%, respectively, while negative ratings were predominant among conservatives, at 73%."

In the party approval poll, support for the Democratic Party of Korea rose by 3 percentage points to 36%, while support for the People Power Party fell by 3 percentage points to 25%. The gap between the two parties, which narrowed to 5 percentage points last week and was within the margin of error, widened to 11 percentage points, outside the margin of error. The Rebuilding Korea Party received 3%, the New Reform Party 2%, and the Progressive Party 1%.

In the party favorability poll, 44% said they viewed the Democratic Party of Korea favorably, compared with 30% for the People Power Party, 21% for the Rebuilding Korea Party, 18% for the Progressive Party, and 13% for the New Reform Party. Favorability toward the Democratic Party of Korea fell by 14 percentage points compared with the previous poll, conducted in the fourth week of April this year, while favorability toward the People Power Party rose by 10 percentage points. The Rebuilding Korea Party also drew attention, with its favorability falling by 11 percentage points from the previous poll.

Regarding the government's plan to relocate 44 central government agencies from the Seoul metropolitan area to Sejong City by 2031, 55% said they supported it, while 32% opposed it.

On impeaching Chief Justice Cho, 34% said they supported it, while 45% said they opposed it.

Regarding prices, 88% said they were a burden, with 31% saying they were a very heavy burden and 57% saying they were somewhat of a burden. Asked about the job market outlook over the next year, 11% said it would improve, 32% said it would remain similar to now, and 53% said it would worsen.

Regarding the fuel tax cut scheduled to expire at the end of November, 69% said it should be extended, while 19% said it should not.

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.