NBS "President Yoon's Approval Rating Drops 5%p to 33%... 74% Say Japan's Contaminated Water Will Be Harmful"

People Power Party at 32%, down 2%p, Democratic Party up 5%p to 28%
Next year's general election: 48% oppose ruling party, 42% support
Public opinion across all age groups confirms contaminated water will be harmful

A public opinion poll revealed that President Yoon Seok-yeol's approval rating for his administration dropped by 5 percentage points over two weeks. Regarding the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, the overwhelming majority believed it would be 'harmful.'

According to the National Barometer Survey (NBS) released on the 31st by Embrain Public, K-Stat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research (conducted from the 28th to the 30th over three days, targeting 1,001 men and women aged 18 and older nationwide, using virtual mobile phone numbers for telephone interviews), President Yoon's positive evaluation of his administration was 33%. This marks a 5 percentage point decline from 38% in the survey conducted two weeks earlier. Negative evaluations rose by 5 percentage points to 59%.

When asked about the president's strengths, the most common response was 'decisiveness' at 18%. This was followed by 'fairness and justice' (6%) and 'consistency and trustworthiness' (5%). Regarding weaknesses, 'authoritarian and unilateral' (21%) was the most frequent answer, followed by 'lack of experience and ability' (16%) and 'insufficient communication with the public' (12%).

In terms of party support, the People Power Party's approval rating dropped by 2 percentage points from the previous survey to 32%, maintaining first place. The Democratic Party of Korea rose by 5 percentage points to 28%. The Justice Party stood at 4%, and 32% responded that they did not support any party. Since the third week of July, when the Democratic Party consistently recorded a low support rate of 23%, this survey shows signs of breaking out of that range.

Regarding next year's general election, 48% of respondents believed the government and ruling party should be checked, surpassing the 42% who supported the government and ruling party. In the previous survey, 42% favored checking the government and ruling party, while 47% supported them, indicating a shift in public opinion over two weeks.

Concerning the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima, 74% responded that they believed it would be harmful to humans and the environment, compared to 21% who thought it would not be harmful. The NBS explained that "regardless of demographic characteristics and ideological tendencies, a majority in all groups responded that it would be harmful."

For more detailed information, please refer to the website of the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission.