Moon Administration Performance Evaluation: Positive 44% · Negative 48%... Reversal After 6 Weeks [Gallup]

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Negative evaluations of President Moon Jae-in's performance in office have surpassed positive evaluations.

According to a public opinion poll conducted by Gallup Korea from the 22nd to the 24th among 1,002 adults aged 18 and over, 44% of respondents gave a positive evaluation of President Moon's job performance, the organization announced on the 25th. This figure is down 1 percentage point from the previous week. Negative evaluations rose by 3 percentage points to 48%. This is the first time in six weeks since the second week of August that negative evaluations have outnumbered positive ones.

By age group, the positive/negative ratings were 34%/51% for ages 18-29, 52%/39% for those in their 30s, 58%/38% for those in their 40s, 47%/49% for those in their 50s, and 33%/57% for those aged 60 and above.

By political party support, 82% of Democratic Party supporters evaluated the president's job performance positively, while 91% of People Power Party supporters evaluated it negatively. Among the non-affiliated group, negative evaluations also led (positive 24%, negative 59%).

When asked the reasons for their positive evaluation of the president's job performance (440 respondents), the answers were 'response to COVID-19' (36%), 'overall good performance' (9%), 'expansion of welfare' (5%), 'having principles and convictions', and 'doing their best/working hard' (both 4%), followed by 'faithfulness to basics/principles/fairness' and 'efforts for ordinary people' (both 3%).

Among those who gave a negative evaluation (479 respondents), the reasons cited were 'overall inadequacy' (14%), 'lack of fairness/double standards', 'insufficient resolution of economic and livelihood issues', 'real estate policy', and 'personnel issues' (all 10%), 'North Korea relations' and 'inadequate COVID-19 response' (both 5%), as well as 'autocratic/one-sided/biased' and 'excessive welfare' (both 4%).

Gallup explained, "Although on September 24, the last day of the survey period, the Ministry of National Defense officially announced that a public official who went missing near Yeonpyeong Island was killed by North Korean gunfire, this fact is considered to have had little impact on the survey results."

Party support stood at 37% for the Democratic Party, 21% for the People Power Party, 5% for the Justice Party, 4% for the People Party, and 3% for the Open Democratic Party. Compared to the previous week, support for the Democratic Party, People Power Party, Justice Party, and People Party each rose by 1 percentage point, while support for the Open Democratic Party remained unchanged.

This survey contacted 6,735 adults aged 18 and over nationwide, with a final 1,002 respondents completing the survey, resulting in a 15% response rate. The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more details, refer to the website of the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission.