President Lee Jae-myung's job approval rating came in at 56.7%. It rose for a second straight week on the back of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) results and expectations for the KOSPI to break through the 4,200 level.
Realmeter said on the 10th that, in a survey commissioned by Energy Economy News of 2,528 people nationwide aged 18 or older from the 3rd to the 7th, 56.7% responded positively to the president's performance. The president's approval rose for a second straight week, topping 55% for the first time since the first week of September (56%).
The negative assessment rate was 38.7%, down 4.6 percentage points from the previous survey.
Realmeter analyzed that "early in the week, approval rose on expectations tied to APEC results, the KOSPI breaking the 4,200 level, and the budget address, reflecting optimism on diplomacy and the economy."
However, it noted that "in the middle of the week, the uptrend was cut off as the financial market turned unstable with a sharp KOSPI drop and a rise in the exchange rate," adding, "on top of that, the president's withdrawal of the trial suspension bill and the opposition's call to resume the trial added political burden, turning the trend downward late in the week."
By region, Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang, categorized as conservative areas, jumped 13.5 percentage points to 54.8%, and Seoul (53.8%) was up 4 percentage points. Incheon and Gyeonggi recorded 59.9%, up 6.4 percentage points.
By age group, all cohorts were on the rise. Those 70 and older climbed 11.5 percentage points to 53.5%; people in their 30s (49.5%) rose 5.2 percentage points; those in their 40s (69.0%) 3.3 percentage points; those in their 20s (37.9%) 1.6 percentage points; those in their 50s (66.1%) 1.2 percentage points; and those in their 60s (59.1%) 0.7 percentage points.
In party support, the gap widened between the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party. In a party support survey of 1,004 people nationwide aged 18 or older on the 6th to the 7th, the Democratic Party of Korea was tallied at 46.5% and the People Power Party at 34.8%. The Democratic Party of Korea rose 1.1 percentage points, while the People Power Party fell 3.1 percentage points. The Reform Party posted 4.2%, the Rebuilding Korea Party 2.5%, and The Progressive Party 0.8%.
Realmeter explained regarding the Democratic Party of Korea, "approval rose on positive signals of economic recovery such as the president's APEC results and KOSPI record high, and on the back of a rebound effect from the previous administration's legal risk," adding, "in particular, it appears to have absorbed support from Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang that moved away from the People Power Party, as well as from moderates."
Regarding the People Power Party, it assessed that "denial of APEC results, the request for an arrest warrant for Rep. Choo Kyung-ho, former leader Han Dong-hoon's martial law remarks, and the previous administration's legal risk overlapped, leading to a large loss of support among core bases such as Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang, those 70 and older, and conservatives."
Both surveys were conducted using wireless interactive voice response.
The sampling error for the presidential job approval survey is ±1.9 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and the sampling error for the party support survey is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
The response rate for the presidential job approval survey was 5.1%, and the response rate for the party support survey was 4.2%. For details, refer to the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.