Public Support for Yoon Recovers to Mid-30% Amid Livelihood Efforts... "Growing Dissatisfaction with Economy and Prices"

Gallup "President Yoon Suk-yeol's Approval Rating Rises 3%p to 35%"
47% Support Lee Sang-min's Impeachment, 38% Oppose

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating for his national administration has risen, recovering to the mid-30% range. His efforts to delay public utility fee hikes and point out problems in the banking and telecommunications markets seem to have influenced the approval rating.

According to Gallup's regular survey conducted from the 14th to the 16th (a telephone interviewer survey of 1,000 adults aged 18 and over nationwide), the percentage of respondents who said President Yoon is performing well increased by 3 percentage points from the previous week's survey to 35%. Negative evaluations that he is performing poorly decreased by 1 percentage point to 58%.

Among those who gave a positive evaluation of the president's job performance (348 respondents), reasons cited included "diplomacy" (9%), "fairness, justice, principles" (7%), "labor union response," "economy and livelihood" (both 6%), and "national defense and security" (5%). Among those who gave a negative evaluation (578 respondents), reasons included "economy, livelihood, prices" (19%), "diplomacy" (10%), "arbitrary and unilateral" (8%), "lack of experience, qualifications, incompetence," "unfairness," "lack of communication," and "generally doing poorly" (all 5%).

The economy, livelihood, and prices appear to be factors influencing both positive and negative opinions. This week, President Yoon chaired the Chief Secretary meeting, visited traditional markets, and held emergency economic livelihood meetings, showing a strong focus on livelihood stabilization measures. Supporters expressed expectations for this series of actions, but on the other hand, dissatisfaction seems to be accumulating. Gallup explained, "Since after Lunar New Year, 'economy, livelihood, prices' has consistently ranked first among reasons for negative evaluations, and its proportion is increasing." In fact, "economy, livelihood, prices" rose from 6% in the third week of January to 15% in the first week of February, 17% in the second week, and 19% in the third week.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In a survey asking about the economic outlook for the next year, 59% of respondents believed the economy would worsen, 13% believed it would improve, and 24% thought it would remain similar. Compared to the survey conducted a year ago in February last year, the percentage expecting improvement dropped by 16 percentage points (29%→13%), while those expecting deterioration rose by 21 percentage points (28%→59%).

Regarding party support, the People Power Party maintained 37%, the same as last week, while the Democratic Party dropped by 1 percentage point to 30%. Gallup analyzed the recent trend in approval ratings, stating, "It seems related to the People Power Party's ability to drive public attention ahead of the party convention."

Provided by Gallup

Regarding the impeachment of Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, 47% supported it, while 38% opposed it. Among centrists, 51% supported impeachment and 33% opposed it; among the non-affiliated, 42% supported and 29% opposed.

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