President Moon's Approval Rating at 50%... Surge in Criticism Over 'Real Estate Policy Failures' [Gallup]

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] President Moon Jae-in's approval rating for his national administration reached 50% in a Gallup Korea survey. This marks a decline for five consecutive weeks. The growing perception that 'real estate policies have failed' appears to have significantly influenced the drop in approval ratings.

Gallup Korea announced on the 3rd that a public opinion survey on President Moon's job performance was conducted from the 30th of last month to the 2nd of this month, targeting 1,000 people aged 18 and older. The results showed that 50% of respondents gave a positive evaluation, down 2 percentage points from the previous week. Negative evaluations remained unchanged at 39%.

Approval and disapproval rates by age group were as follows: 18-29 years old (hereafter '20s') 50% positive, 37% negative; 30s 55% positive, 34% negative; 40s 64% positive, 31% negative; 50s 49% positive, 42% negative; 60 and older 39% positive, 48% negative.

By political party support, 85% of the Democratic Party supporters positively evaluated the president's job performance, while 80% of United Future Party supporters were negative. Among those without party affiliation (independents), negative evaluations also led (positive 29%, negative 49%).

When asked the reasons for positive evaluations from those who approved of the president's job performance (502 respondents), the responses were: 'Response to COVID-19' (32%), 'Overall good performance' (9%), 'Doing their best / working hard' (7%), 'Expansion of welfare' (5%), 'Diplomacy / international relations' (4%), followed by 'Relations with North Korea,' 'Efforts for ordinary people,' 'Communication,' and 'Considering the people's position' (all 3%). COVID-19 related responses have been the top reason for positive evaluations for 21 consecutive weeks, though their proportion is gradually decreasing.

Among those who negatively evaluated the job performance (394 respondents), the reasons cited were: 'Relations with North Korea' (16%), 'Lack of solutions to economic and livelihood issues' (12%), 'Real estate policy' and 'Overall inadequacy' (both 10%), 'Autocratic / unilateral / biased' (7%), 'Inadequate COVID-19 response,' and 'Unfairness / double standards' (both 4%).

In the reasons for negative evaluations, criticisms related to real estate reached double digits for the first time under the current administration. Mentions of 'autocratic' and 'double standards' also increased, while responses related to 'North Korea' and 'economy' decreased. The newly included issue last week regarding the 'regularization of irregular workers' at Incheon International Airport was mostly cited by negative evaluators in their 20s, but this issue has subsided this week.

Party support rates were 38% for the Democratic Party, 21% for the United Future Party, and 7% for the Justice Party. The People’s Party and the Open Democratic Party each recorded 3%.

Meanwhile, in the public opinion survey on the job performance of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, Choo’s positive and negative ratings were 40% and 45%, respectively, while Yoon’s were 43% positive and 38% negative. The difference between positive and negative ratings for each was within 5 percentage points, showing similar levels.

Choo’s job approval was relatively high among Democratic Party supporters (69%), progressives (63%), residents of Gwangju and Jeolla regions (64%), and people in their 40s (50%). Yoon’s approval was relatively high among United Future Party supporters (79%), conservatives (66%), residents of Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions (58%), and those aged 60 and older (57%).

A Gallup official stated, "Evaluations of Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon’s job performances should not be interpreted as opinions on individual issues but rather as assessments of the organizations they lead, such as the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution."

This survey contacted 8,976 adults aged 18 and older nationwide, with a final 1,000 respondents completing the survey, resulting in an 11% response rate. The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For detailed information, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.