President Lee Jae-myung's job approval fell for the ninth straight week to the lowest level since taking office, a poll showed. Party support stood at 36.1% for the Democratic Party of Korea and 42.1% for the People Power Party.
On the 14th, polling firm Realmeter said that in a survey conducted from the 7th to the 11th at the request of Energy Economy News, the positive assessment of the president's job performance came to 33.8%, down 3.6 percentage points from the previous week. It was the lowest figure in this survey since the president took office in June last year and marked a decline for nine consecutive weeks.
The negative assessment was 63.3%, surpassing 60% for the first time since the inauguration. It rose 3.8 percentage points from last week's 59.5%. The gap between positive and negative assessments was 29.5 percentage points, outside the margin of error, and "don't know" was 2.9%.
Realmeter said, "Despite diplomatic moves including a summit, negative public opinion on state affairs—such as controversy over the Cabinet reshuffle picks, a review of dispatching troops to the Strait of Hormuz, and uncertainty in real estate policy—spread, and a substantial defection among progressives and the broader youth cohort added to it, appearing to drive down the approval rating."
In the party support survey, the Democratic Party of Korea fell 5.7 percentage points to 36.1%, while the People Power Party rose 4.5 percentage points to 42.1%. Since the fourth week of June, the People Power Party again showed an edge over the Democratic Party of Korea in support. The Rebuilding Korea Party recorded 4.7%, the Reform Party 1.3%, and The Progressive Party 1.3%. Other parties were 2.3%, and unaffiliated voters were 12.2%.
Realmeter analyzed the Democratic Party by saying, "As the governing party, the burden of state affairs—such as uncertainty in real estate policy and controversy over Cabinet appointments—overlapped, and a sharp loss of support among people in their 20s and among progressives appears to have led to a drop in approval."
Regarding the People Power Party, it explained, "Amid a backlash effect from state affairs issues such as controversy over the government's Cabinet reshuffle picks, the broader youth cohort and the Chungcheong region rallied in large numbers, which is assessed to have driven an increase in support among people in their 20s and in PK."
The presidential job performance assessment was conducted via automated response on mobile phones among 2,515 voters aged 18 and older. The response rate was 4.5%, with a margin of error of ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. The party support survey was conducted among 1,003 voters aged 18 and older, with a response rate of 3.6% and a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For details, visit the website of the National Election Poll Deliberation Commission.