[PollPollNews] President Lee's Approval Rating Rebounds to 63%... Third Highest at 100 Days Since Democratization

Gallup Poll Shows 4 Percentage Point Rise from Last Week
Ranks Among Top Presidents After Kim Youngsam (83%) and Moon Jaein (78%)
Approval Rebounds After Cho Kuk Pardon Controversy

President Lee Jaemyung's approval rating, which had once fluctuated, has recovered to the level seen at the beginning of his term. Compared to the approval ratings of previous presidents at the 100-day mark, he ranks among the top, following former Presidents Kim Youngsam and Moon Jaein.

According to a public opinion poll released by Gallup Korea on September 5 (conducted from September 2 to 4 through telephone interviews with 1,002 adults aged 18 and older nationwide, with a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level and a response rate of 12.1%), 63% of respondents said that President Lee is "doing a good job." This is a 4 percentage point increase from last week's survey. Previously, the approval rating had dropped to 56% following the special pardon of Cho Kuk, head of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party's Institute for Innovative Policy, but it has now rebounded to the low-to-mid 60% range, similar to the early days of his presidency.

The negative assessment, or those who said he is "not doing a good job," fell by 2 percentage points to 28%.

Yonhap News Agency

Among the 629 respondents who gave a positive assessment of his performance, 18% cited diplomacy and 13% cited the economy and people's livelihoods as reasons. Among the 281 respondents who gave a negative assessment, 15% pointed to the economy and people's livelihoods, 11% to diplomacy, and 10% to excessive welfare and livelihood support payments.

At the 100-day mark, President Lee's 63% approval rating is the third highest among presidents since democratization. The only presidents with higher ratings at this point were Kim Youngsam (83%) and Moon Jaein (78%). In contrast, former President Yoon Sukyeol's approval rating stood at just 28% at the same point in his term.

In terms of party support, the Democratic Party's approval rating fell by 3 percentage points to 41%. The People Power Party's rating rose by 1 percentage point to 24%. The Cho Kuk Innovation Party stood at 4%, and the Reform New Party at 3%.

Regarding the controversial changes to the stock capital gains tax, a majority favored maintaining the current system. 47% of respondents said the threshold should remain at 5 billion won per stock, while 27% said it should be lowered to 1 billion won.

When asked whether the KOSPI could reach 5,000 during the current administration, 27% said it was possible, while 50% said it was not.

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