President Lee's Approval Rating Drops to 43.3%, Lowest Since Taking Office

President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating has fallen for four consecutive weeks, reaching a record low of 43.3%, according to a survey released on August 10. Negative evaluations increased to 53.0%, widening the gap beyond the margin of error.

The survey, conducted by Realmeter at the request of Energy Economy News from August 3 to 7, involved 2,514 voters aged 18 and older nationwide. The approval rating for President Lee's administration dropped by 2.6 percentage points from the previous week.

Negative evaluations rose by 2.5 percentage points during the same period, while 3.6% of respondents answered 'don't know.'

The gap between positive and negative evaluations stands at 9.7 percentage points, exceeding the sampling error of ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. This marks the lowest approval rating for President Lee since he took office.

President Lee's approval rating has declined from 48.4% in the third week of July to 46.3% in the fourth week, 45.9% in the fifth week, and now 43.3% in the first week of August, indicating a downward trend from the mid-40s to the low 40s.

Regionally, the largest drop was observed in Seoul, where the approval rating fell by 5.9 percentage points. The ratings also decreased by 5.5 percentage points in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, and by 4.8 percentage points in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam.

By age group, approval ratings dropped by 5.6 percentage points among those aged 70 and older, and by 5.3 percentage points among those in their 60s. The approval rating among those in their 20s also fell by 2.5 percentage points from the previous week.

Realmeter attributed the decline in support to controversies surrounding real estate tax reforms, amendments to the criminal procedure law, and fallout from comments related to the Army Academy, compounded by extreme heat and economic instability, leading to a loss of support primarily among residents of Seoul, conservative groups, and older voters.

In a related survey conducted by the same organization from August 6 to 7, support for the Democratic Party was at 44.6%, while the People Power Party stood at 37.6%. The Democratic Party's support decreased by 0.5 percentage points, and the People Power Party's support fell by 0.1 percentage points. The gap between the two parties remains at 7.0 percentage points, outside the margin of error for the second consecutive week.

The Justice Reform Party and the Reform Party each recorded 2.9%, while the Progressive Party was at 1.5%. The percentage of undecided voters was 9.0%.

The presidential approval rating survey was conducted using a wireless automated response method, with a response rate of 4.0% and a sampling error of ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

The party support survey was also conducted using a wireless automated response method, with a response rate of 3.4% and a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. More details can be found on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.