President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating has dropped for five consecutive weeks, reaching a record low in the low 40s, according to a recent poll.
Realmeter, commissioned by Energy Economy News, conducted a survey from August 10 to 14 among 2,511 adults aged 18 and older. The results showed that the positive evaluation of President Lee's governance fell by 0.3 percentage points to 43.0% compared to the previous week.
The negative evaluation rose to 54.1%, an increase of 1.1 percentage points, marking the third consecutive week it has exceeded the positive rating outside the margin of error (±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level). The percentage of respondents who answered 'don't know' was 2.9%.
Regionally, the largest decline was seen in Incheon and Gyeonggi, where the approval rating fell by 2.6 percentage points to 41.5%. Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam recorded 36.3%, while Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong saw a drop to 41.3%, down 2.4 and 1.9 percentage points, respectively.
Conversely, Daegu and Gyeongbuk experienced a 6.6 percentage point increase, reaching 36.4%. Jeonnam, Gwangju, and Jeonbuk also saw a rise of 2.8 percentage points to 73.5%.
By age group, support among those in their 60s fell by 6.1 percentage points to 43.1%. The approval ratings for those in their 30s and 40s also declined, dropping 2.9 percentage points to 30.3% and 1.5 percentage points to 47.5%, respectively.
Support among those in their 70s increased by 5.3 percentage points to 48.7%, while the approval rating for those in their 20s rebounded by 3.1 percentage points to 31.0%.
In terms of ideological orientation, support among progressives fell by 4.6 percentage points to 59.1%. The centrist group also saw a decline of 1.9 percentage points to 43.4%, while support among conservatives rose by 4.8 percentage points to 22.4%.
Realmeter analyzed that the decline in positive evaluations was due to accumulated distrust in policies, triggered by confusion over real estate tax reform and controversy surrounding comments on youth housing.
In a separate survey conducted on August 13-14 among 1,004 adults aged 18 and older regarding party support, the Democratic Party recorded 47.9%, while the People Power Party stood at 33.1%. The Democratic Party's support increased by 3.3 percentage points, while the People Power Party saw a decrease of 4.5 percentage points.
Aside from a 10.8 percentage point drop in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (33.4%), the Democratic Party showed an upward trend in most regions.
Realmeter noted that the Democratic Party's rise can be attributed to the upcoming party convention, which has strengthened the cohesion among party members and supporters.
The support for the Justice Innovation Party was recorded at 2.5%, while the Reform Party garnered 2.2%. The Progressive Party received 1.9%, other parties accounted for 2.3%, and the undecided group made up 10.1%.
Both surveys were conducted using a wireless automated response method. The margin of error for the presidential approval rating survey is ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 4.0%. The party support survey had a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 3.5%. For more details, refer to the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.