President Lee Jae-myung on the 10th said he would "humbly accept the sober judgment of the people" after an opinion poll was released showing his job approval rating plunged 9.4 percentage points from the previous week. As analysts said the ruling party's defeats in key battlegrounds such as the Seoul mayoral race, Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi, and Busan Buk-gap in the June 3 local elections and National Assembly by-elections reflected backlash not only against the government's real estate policy but also against the president's push to "withdraw the indictment" in a criminal case, the president, who is on an overseas trip, issued a direct message.
Attending the Group of Seven (G7) summit and traveling in Europe on an eight-night, 10-day itinerary starting the previous day, the president wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on this day, "People of the nation, I am sorry." He added, "With a lower posture, more humbly, I will open wider, embrace more, and work harder."
According to a survey conducted by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) of 1,002 voters aged 18 and older nationwide from the 8th to the 9th, the president's job approval was 50.4%, down 9.4 percentage points from the previous survey (the 4th week of May). In the same survey series, the president's approval marked 63.4% in the 2nd week of April, then 62.4% in the 4th week of April, 60.7% in the 2nd week of May, and 59.8% in the 4th week of May, showing a downward trend before dropping sharply in this survey.
The negative assessment that he is "doing poorly" was 45.7%, up 10.5 percentage points from the previous survey. This is the first time the gap between positive and negative assessments of the president's job approval has narrowed to within the margin of error. KSOI said, "Although the ruling party won the local elections, it appears the results fell short of expectations in key contests such as the Seoul mayoral race and National Assembly by-elections," adding, "Among people in their 20s and 30s, conservatives and moderates, and in Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang, the decline in positive assessments was relatively large, and the late-campaign consolidation of People Power Party supporters seems to have been partially reflected in evaluations of state affairs."