Gallup "Despite Lee Jae-myung's Judicial Risk, Democratic Party Support Drops by 1%p"

President Yoon Suk-yeol's Approval Rating Rises 1% to Recover in the 30% Range
People Power Party Approval Rating at 32%, Justice Party at 5%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Despite a series of setbacks, the support rate for the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) only slightly declined. President Yoon Seok-yeol's approval rating rose slightly, reaching 30% again.

According to Gallup's regular survey conducted from the 22nd to the 24th (a telephone interview survey of 1,002 adults aged 18 and over nationwide), the DPK's support rate fell by 1 percentage point from the previous week to 33%. The People Power Party (PPP) remained at 32%, the same as last week's result, while the Justice Party rose by 2 percentage points to 5%.

Gallup stated, "By age group, the PPP had around 50% support among those aged 60 and over, the DPK had about 50% among those in their 40s, and the non-affiliated group accounted for 48% among those in their 20s." It added, "By political orientation, 66% of conservatives supported the PPP, 60% of progressives supported the DPK, and among moderates, 24% supported the PPP, 35% the DPK, and 37% did not support any particular party."

Despite ongoing setbacks such as the successive arrests of close aides to DPK leader Lee Jae-myung, the search and seizure of lawmaker Roh Woong-rae, and the apology issued by DPK lawmaker Kim Eui-gyeom regarding allegations of a drinking party in Cheongdam-dong, the party's support rate remained steady.

In terms of favorability ratings for parties other than support rates, the DPK recorded 32%, the PPP 28%, and the Justice Party 23%. Compared to the previous survey conducted in July, the DPK maintained 32%, the PPP dropped by 8 percentage points, and the Justice Party rose by 2 percentage points.

Regarding President Yoon Seok-yeol's job performance, positive evaluations increased by 1 percentage point from the previous week to 30%. Negative evaluations also rose by 1 percentage point to 62%.

Gallup explained, "Over the past five weeks, there has been almost no surface change in President Yoon's job approval and the ruling party's support, only the reasons for the presidential job evaluation have changed." It added, "This week, reasons for positive evaluations included diplomacy and the economy, while reasons for negative evaluations increasingly mentioned communication style and media suppression. Among positive evaluators, the visit of Crown Prince Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and related external economic cooperation efforts left a strong impression, while among negative evaluators, the presidential office's response to media outlets including MBC seemed to have a strong impact."

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