Pollster Gallup Korea surveyed about 1,000 adults nationwide earlier this week and found that 42 percent said Lee was doing a good job, down 3 percentage points from the previous week.
The figure was the lowest since Lee took office in June last year, continuing a downward trend in recent weeks. It was also below the previous low of 44 percent seen in the second week of August, when his disapproval rating surpassed his approval rating for the first time.
About 50 percent of respondents disapproved of Lee's performance, also the first time disapproval has reached half of those surveyed in Gallup Korea's weekly polls since he took office. Some 8 percent remained undecided or refused to give an answer.
Among those who approved of Lee's performance, foreign policy was the most cited reason at 16 percent. Among those who disapproved, real estate-related policy topped the list at 27 percent.
The decline in Lee's approval rating came a bit later than that of his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, but was somewhat faster than those of other former presidents who entered their lame-duck periods about two years or so into their terms.
Yoon's disapproval rating surpassed his approval rating for the first time in July 2022, just two months after taking office and even before his honeymoon period ended, in a phenomenon known as a "dead cross." Other predecessors saw the same reversal, but much later. It took Moon Jae-in about two years and four months and Park Geun-hye one year and five months. Neither recovered their approval ratings afterward.
Meanwhile, support for the ruling Democratic Party (DP) fell 2 percentage points from the previous week to 39 percent, dropping below 40 percent for the first time in about 10 months. Support for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) remained unchanged at 25 percent.
Among the minor parties, the liberal Rebuilding Korea Party garnered 4 percent, followed by the centrist Reform Party at 3 percent and the left-wing Progressive Party at 1 percent. A whopping 26 percent of respondents said they did not support any party.
AJP Takeaways
• President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell to 42 percent, down 3 percentage points from the previous week and the lowest level since he took office in June 2025, according to a Gallup Korea poll released Aug. 28, 2026.
• Lee Jae Myung's disapproval rating reached 50 percent for the first time in Gallup Korea's weekly polls since his inauguration, with real estate policy cited as the top reason for negative assessments at 27 percent.
• Democratic Party support fell to 39 percent, dropping below 40 percent for the first time in about 10 months, while People Power Party support remained unchanged at 25 percent.
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