President Lee Jae Myung speaks at the 81st Liberation Day celebrations at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul on Aug. 15.JOINT PRESS CORPS
President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has continued to fall for five consecutive weeks, hitting its lowest level since his inauguration last year, according to pollster Realmeter on Monday.
His approval stood at 43 percent, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous week, in a poll of 2,511 voters aged 18 and older nationwide from last Monday to Friday.
His disapproval rating rose 1.1 percentage points to 54.1 percent. It exceeded his approval rating by more than the margin of error for a third consecutive week. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.
The remaining 2.9 percent said they were unsure about the president’s job performance.
“The decline in approval appears to reflect the eroding of people's trustin the administration’s policies, compounded by public backlash over housing issues,” Realmeter said. “The backlash followed confusion over proposed changes to real estate taxes and controversy over remarks about converting decommissioned buses into housing for young people.”
The proposal to use old buses for youth housing was made by Democratic Party (DP) Rep. Hwang Hee on Aug. 7, for which he apologized three days later due to the negative response.
President Lee Jae Myung bows at 81st Liberation Day celebrations at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul on Aug. 15.JOINT PRESS CORPS
The ruling DP recorded 47.9 percent support in a separate survey that polled 1,004 adults aged 18 and older across the country from Thursday to Friday. The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) garnered 33.1 percent.
Support for the DP rose 3.3 percentage points from the previous survey, while support for the PPP fell 4.5 percentage points.
“The DP's gains appear to have been driven by a growing 'convention effect' as its national convention approaches, along with stronger consolidation among party members and supporters,” Realmeter said.
“Despite its strategy to criticize the government over confusion surrounding its housing policies, the PPP failed to reap any clear political benefit,” the polling firm said. “Instead, intensifying internal conflict dampened support and weakened the party’s standing both among conservative voters and in its regional strongholds.”
The liberal-splinter Rebuilding Korea Party recorded 2.5 percent support, while the right-leaning Reform Party received 2.2 percent. The Jinbo Party stood at 1.9 percent, other parties at 2.3 percent and voters with no party affiliation at 10.1 percent.
The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.
Both surveys used an automated wireless telephone response system to collect answers. The response rate was 4 percent for the presidential approval poll and 3.5 percent for the party support survey.
Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.BY JANG GU-SEUL [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
