[AKYUNG Poll] President Moon's 'Support' 48.8%, 'Non-Support' 47.3%

Down 2.6 Percentage Points from Previous Survey... Impact of Yoon's Job Exclusion Evident

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] In the Asia Economy public opinion poll conducted on the 15th and 16th of last month, President Moon Jae-in's political approval rating, which had a positive response lead, showed a close tie between positive and negative responses within the margin of error two weeks later. President Moon's political approval rating dropped by 2.6 percentage points compared to the previous survey, which appears to have been negatively affected by Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's decision to suspend Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl from his duties.

According to a public opinion poll commissioned by Asia Economy to Win-Gi Korea Consulting, conducted nationwide from the 28th to 29th of last month targeting 1,000 people aged 18 and over (100% mobile phone virtual numbers, automated response), regardless of the evaluation of job performance, 48.8% responded that they politically 'support' President Moon, while 47.3% responded that they 'do not support' him. Although the positive approval rating was 1.5 percentage points ahead of the negative approval rating within the margin of error, it fell by 2.6 percentage points compared to the previous survey's support response of 51.4%.

High approval ratings were observed among age groups under 50, while negative approval ratings were higher among the elderly aged 60 and over. The 40s showed the highest approval rating at 63.1%, followed by the 30s (53.2%) and 50s (50.4%), all exceeding half. Support among those aged 18 to 29 was 42.0%. On the other hand, more than half of those aged 60 and over responded that they 'do not support' him. Among those in their 60s, 60.5% said they did not support him, and among those aged 70 and above, it was 56.4%.

Regionally, Seoul showed mixed results, while Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (PK) showed more negative responses. In Seoul, a key battleground for next year's by-election, 48.8% said they supported him, nearly equal to the 48.9% who said they did not support him. This contrasts with the Democratic Party's party approval rating in Seoul, which was 9.9 percentage points ahead of the People Power Party.

In PK, support was 41.1%, while those who did not support him were 53.5%, exceeding half. This also differs from the Democratic Party's party approval rating in Busan, which was ahead of the People Power Party within the margin of error. In Daegu and Gyeongbuk (TK), support was the lowest at 29.3%. The aftermath of the real estate policy crisis and the fallout from Prosecutor General Yoon's suspension, which has spread dissent within the prosecution, are analyzed to have significantly affected approval ratings.

Support for President Moon remained strong in the Honam region. In Gwangju and Jeolla, 80.3% responded that they supported him, the highest figure, followed by the metropolitan area of Incheon and Gyeonggi (50.9%). In Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong, negative responses were 47.8%, nearly equal to the 48.4% who supported him, while in Gangwon and Jeju, only 35.6% supported him, with 64.4% responding that they did not support him.

By party support, 93.8% of Democratic Party supporters said they supported President Moon, while 89.8% of People Power Party supporters said they did not support him. Among the pro-government Open Democratic Party supporters, 82.1% supported President Moon, and among the progressive Justice Party supporters, 62.9% supported him. Among People's Party supporters, 76.9% did not support President Moon.

This survey was conducted nationwide among voters aged 18 and over from the 28th to 29th of last month, with an overall response rate of 11.4%, totaling 1,000 respondents. The survey method was wireless ARS using 100% mobile phone virtual numbers. The sample was extracted using weighted values by gender, age, and region based on the resident registration population as of the end of October 2020 from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (cell weighting). The sampling error is ±3.09 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For detailed survey information, refer to the Win-Gi Korea Consulting website or the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.