Gallup: President Yoon's Approval Rating Drops 5%p Amid 'Normal Diplomacy Controversy'... Falls Below 30% Again

Positive Rating 28%, Negative Rating 61%
Negative Rating Surpasses 60% Again After One Week

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] President Yoon Seok-yeol's approval rating for his administration has fallen below 30% again. Diplomatic summits, which typically boost presidential approval ratings, seem to have had an adverse effect on President Yoon's ratings.

According to Gallup's regular survey conducted from the 20th to the 22nd (a telephone interview survey of 1,000 adults aged 18 and over nationwide), 28% responded that President Yoon is performing his duties well, while 61% responded that he is performing poorly. Compared to last week's survey on the same question, positive evaluations of good performance dropped by 5 percentage points, while negative evaluations of poor performance rose by 2 percentage points.

It is the first time in a week that positive evaluations have fallen below 30%, and negative evaluations have exceeded 60%. The approval rating had stayed in the 20% range from mid-July to early September, rose to 33% last week right after Chuseok, but has now turned downward again.

The controversy over the budget for the new state guesthouse and President Yoon's condolence and diplomatic controversies are presumed to have influenced this trend.

Gallup explained that overseas trips since President Yoon's inauguration have not helped his job performance evaluation. Gallup stated, "The approval rating dropped by 6 percentage points immediately after attending the NATO summit last summer," adding, "This is a different pattern compared to previous presidents."

This contrasts with the rise in approval ratings during former President Park Geun-hye's first year overseas visits and President Moon Jae-in's attendance at the UN General Assembly in September 2018.

For detailed survey methodology and results related to the poll, please refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.