Gallup Government Approval Rating Rebounds 3%p to 28% from Previous Week
Next Month's Chuseok Public Sentiment to Play Key Role in Determining Government Performance Success
[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] President Yoon Seok-yeol's approval rating has successfully rebounded for two consecutive weeks, but analysts say this is due to factors such as the Liberation Day commemorative speech and the 100-day inauguration press conference, which helped reverse public opinion. There are also calls for changes in government administration to win public sentiment ahead of the upcoming Chuseok holiday, which is less than a month away.
According to a regular public opinion poll released on the 19th by Gallup (conducted via telephone interviews with 1,000 adults nationwide aged 18 and over from the 16th to the 18th), 28% responded that President Yoon is "doing well" in his duties, while 64% said he is "doing poorly." Compared to last week's survey, positive evaluations rose by 3 percentage points, and negative evaluations fell by 2 percentage points. After a downward trend following the local elections, President Yoon's job performance rating hit a low of 24% in the second week of August, then improved to 25% in the third week and 28% in the fourth week of August.
Gallup explained, "(President Yoon) outlined his government plans through the Liberation Day commemorative speech on the 15th and the 100-day inauguration press conference on the 17th," adding, "In the past, such forms of communication mainly attracted attention and support from existing supporters."
This rebound in approval ratings can be seen as confirming the baseline public sentiment regarding President Yoon's job performance. However, except for conservatives by ideological inclination and those aged 70 and above, there is no group where positive evaluations surpass negative ones.
In particular, according to evaluations of major policies, positive ratings did not exceed negative ones in seven areas including the economy, real estate, welfare, education, North Korea policy, diplomacy, and public official appointments. Among these, North Korea policy had the highest positive rating at 34%, followed by real estate at 30%, diplomacy at 29%, welfare at 27%, economy at 24%, public official appointments at 16%, and education at 11%.
For now, future public opinion trends remain important, as whether the approval rating continues to rebound is crucial for the momentum of government administration.
Experts particularly emphasize the need to pay attention to changes in public sentiment until the upcoming Chuseok holiday.
Kim Bong-shin, CEO of Metavoice, evaluated, "For President Yoon, last week he used all the cards available, including the dismissal of former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Park Soon-ae, his apology after returning from vacation, the 100-day inauguration press conference, and the announcement of diplomatic and security plans regarding North Korea through the August 15th commemorative speech. These efforts likely gave his existing supporters the impression that he is trying." However, he added, "Recovering public sentiment by Chuseok will be an important task going forward," and said, "There needs to be visible changes in government administration by Chuseok." Kim advised, "In the past, former President Lee Myung-bak implemented measures to stabilize people's livelihoods before Chuseok, such as supporting unpaid wages for small and medium-sized enterprises, and such policies should be considered."
For detailed survey methodology and results related to the public opinion poll, please refer to the website of the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission.
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