Moon's approval rating hits lowest at 37.4% since inauguration... People Power Party surpasses Democratic Party in support [Realmeter]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] A public opinion poll revealed that President Moon Jae-in's approval rating for his administration has fallen to the 30% range, marking the lowest point since his inauguration. The ruling party, the Democratic Party of Korea, also saw its approval rating drop to the 20% range, losing its leading position to the People Power Party. This is the first time in about four months since August, when the real estate controversy was at its peak, that the People Power Party has surpassed the Democratic Party. The controversy surrounding the suspension and disciplinary request for Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl is believed to have influenced this outcome.

According to Realmeter, which conducted the survey commissioned by tbs from the 30th of last month to the 2nd of this month, the positive evaluation of President Moon's administration dropped by 6.4 percentage points from the previous week's aggregate to 37.4% as of the 3rd. This is the lowest since the Moon Jae-in government took office and the first time the approval rating has fallen into the 30% range. The previous lowest was 41.4% recorded in the second week of October last year during the height of the 'Cho Kuk incident.' Negative evaluations rose by 5.1 percentage points to 57.3%, setting a new high since the government took office. The gap between positive and negative evaluations stands at 19.9 percentage points, which is outside the margin of error.

The decline in positive evaluations was particularly notable among key ruling party supporters such as women (down 9.1 percentage points), those in their 40s (down 5.9 percentage points), and progressives (down 7.8 percentage points). Especially striking was a 13.9 percentage point drop in Honam, a traditional stronghold of the ruling party. Negative evaluations increased sharply in regions such as Chungcheong (up 16.3 percentage points), Honam (up 10.0 percentage points), among women (up 6.2 percentage points), those in their 40s (up 6.7 percentage points), those aged 70 and above (up 6.6 percentage points), those in their 60s (up 6.4 percentage points), and supporters of the Justice Party (up 4.6 percentage points).

Regarding party support ratings, the People Power Party recorded 31.2%, up 3.3 percentage points, overtaking the Democratic Party, which stood at 28.9%. The Democratic Party saw a significant drop of 5.2 percentage points from the previous week, marking its lowest point since the current government took office. The People Power Party surpassing the Democratic Party is the first time in about four months since the second week of August, when the real estate controversy was at its peak (then known as the United Future Party).

In the upcoming mayoral by-elections next year, the People Power Party also showed an advantage in Seoul and the PK region (Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam). In Seoul, the People Power Party was at 32.4%, while the Democratic Party was at 28.4%. In the PK region, the People Power Party recorded 38.5%, and the Democratic Party 22.2%.

Realmeter analyzed, "Although the issue of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl's suspension appeared to show sharp conflicts between political camps on the surface, the survey results indicate that the defection and shock within the progressive camp were greater."

Support ratings for other parties were as follows: People Party 6.7%, Open Democratic Party 6.0%, Justice Party 5.5%, Transition Korea 1.0%, and Basic Income Party 0.5%.

This survey contacted 34,269 voters aged 18 and over nationwide, with a final response of 1,508 people, recording a response rate of 4.4%. The sampling error is ±2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more details, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.