President Yoon's approval rating drops to 20%... Disaffection among 70s, TK, and conservative groups

Gallup Regular Public Opinion Survey
Negative Rating Reaches 70%
People Power Party Support Also at 28%, Lowest Since Current Government Inauguration

President Yoon Suk-yeol and the ruling party, the People Power Party, have seen their approval ratings drop to the lowest levels since the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. It was found that 7 out of 10 citizens gave negative evaluations of the government's management. Notably, there has been a shift even among the conservative base and the elderly, who had previously served as a support line for the approval ratings.

According to a public opinion poll released on the 13th by Gallup (conducted from the 10th to the 12th nationwide on 1,002 people aged 18 and over via wireless phone interviews), the approval rating indicating that President Yoon is managing state affairs well was 20%. This marks a 3% drop from the previous survey, barely maintaining the 20% level. Negative evaluations, meaning that the government is managing poorly, rose by 3 percentage points to 70%. The 20% approval rating is the lowest figure among the regular surveys conducted by Gallup since the current administration began.

What draws attention in this survey is that the response indicating President Yoon is currently "doing well" stands out only among supporters of the People Power Party (55%). Until now, President Yoon's approval ratings had a steady support base regionally in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, among those aged 70 and above, and politically among conservatives. However, recent polls show a noticeable weakening of this support.

Comparing the survey released on the 6th for the first week of September with this week's survey, approval ratings in Daegu and Gyeongbuk slightly dropped from 37% to 35%. Regarding negative evaluations, which is a noteworthy point, the negative rating in this region was 49% last week but rose to 57% this time. Among those in their 70s, positive evaluations fell from 45% in the previous survey to 37% this time. In the group self-identifying as conservatives, positive evaluations also declined from 42% to 38%.

The medical school controversy is presumed to be a cause of the approval rating decline. Among the 706 respondents who negatively evaluated the job performance, 18% cited the expansion of medical school quotas. Following controversies over emergency room rotations and concerns about the emergency medical system during Chuseok, the expansion of medical school quotas has been a major cause of negative evaluations for two consecutive weeks.

The ruling party's situation is also challenging. The People Power Party's approval rating dropped by 3 percentage points from last week to 28%. The 28% is the lowest since the People Power Party became the ruling party. The Democratic Party's approval rating rose by 1 percentage point to 33%. The Innovation Party received 8%, and the Reform Party 2%, respectively. Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, showed efforts to resolve the medical school quota controversy by proposing a suspension of the quota increase until 2026 or by promoting a consultative body involving the ruling and opposition parties, medical professionals, and the government, but these efforts did not yield results.

For detailed public opinion poll results, please refer to the website of the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission.