President Lee's Press Conference Receives 57.7% Negative Rating Amid Re-election Controversy

A recent public opinion poll revealed that nearly six out of ten respondents viewed President Lee Jae-myung's press conference on September 18 negatively. Although President Lee stated he has "no intention of seeking re-election," more than half of those surveyed indicated that the controversy surrounding potential constitutional amendments for re-election remains unresolved.

The survey, conducted by Realmeter at the request of Energy Economy News on September 21, found that 57.7% of respondents believed the press conference was "poorly executed," while 39.2% rated it positively, resulting in a negative rating that exceeded the positive by 18.5 percentage points.

Specifically, 45.2% of respondents said he "did very poorly," and 12.5% said he "did somewhat poorly." On the positive side, 25.5% rated it as "very good," and 13.7% as "somewhat good."

Regionally, the approval rating was highest in Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk, where 72.6% rated it positively compared to 24.1% negatively. In contrast, Daegu and Gyeongbuk reported a negative rating of 78.5%, with Incheon and Gyeonggi at 63.9%, Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong at 59.3%, and Seoul at 57.1%. Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam had a positive rating of 46.0% against a negative rating of 52.9%.

By age group, 53.5% of respondents in their 50s and 52.0% in their 40s rated the press conference positively. However, the negative rating was highest among those in their 30s at 74.0%, followed by 69.5% for those aged 70 and older, 61.7% for ages 18-29, and 57.6% for those in their 60s.

When asked whether President Lee's statement about not seeking re-election resolved the controversy, 51.7% said it did not, while 44.0% believed it did. The gap between these responses was within the margin of error at 7.7 percentage points.

In Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk, 75.5% felt the controversy was resolved, while 70.2% in Daegu and Gyeongbuk disagreed. In Incheon, Gyeonggi, and Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong, the responses indicating unresolved issues were 56.5% and 56.0%, respectively.

Following the press conference, 45.9% of respondents anticipated a decline in President Lee's approval ratings, compared to 36.8% who expected an increase. Meanwhile, 15.8% believed there would be no significant change.

Regarding the government's future priorities, 34.3% identified "resolving real estate and economic issues" as the top focus. This was followed by "personnel reform and restoring public trust" at 15.9%, "reform of power agencies such as the prosecution and police" at 13.8%, "strengthening diplomacy, security, and the Korea-U.S. alliance" at 9.3%, "political reform including constitutional amendments" at 7.2%, and "enhancing communication and empathy with the public" at 6.3%.

The survey was conducted using an automated response method with a randomly generated sample of mobile phone numbers. The response rate was 4.6%, and the margin of error is ±4.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Statistical adjustments were made based on the population statistics from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, weighted by gender, age, and region.