[PollPollNews] President Lee's Approval at 58% on 100th Day in Office... 51% Support Prosecution Reform

A 5 Percentage Point Drop from the Previous Survey
Top Reason for Negative Evaluation: Diplomacy (22%)
Democratic Party 42% vs People Power Party 24%

A recent public opinion poll showed that President Lee Jaemyung's approval rating for his job performance, on the occasion of his 100th day in office, fell compared to the previous week and stood in the upper 50% range. The survey indicated that negative evaluations in the field of diplomacy increased due to the aftermath of the detention of Korean workers at a battery plant in Georgia, United States.

According to a public opinion poll released by Korea Gallup on September 12 (conducted from September 9 to 11 through wireless 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 11.8%), 58% of respondents said President Lee was “doing well” in his duties. This marks a decrease of 5 percentage points from the previous survey. The negative evaluation, or the percentage of respondents saying he was “not doing well,” was 34%, up 6 percentage points from the prior week.

The main reasons cited for the positive evaluations were “economy/people’s livelihoods” (14%), “diplomacy” (12%), and “communication” (7%). In contrast, the top reason for negative evaluations was “diplomacy” (22%), which is analyzed to be a result of the incident in which over 300 Korean workers were arrested and detained on suspicion of illegal stay at a battery plant in Georgia, United States.

Yonhap News Agency

In policy evaluations by major sector for the first 100 days of the administration, welfare received the highest marks. For welfare policy, 52% responded that the administration was “doing well,” while 28% said it was “not doing well.” This was followed by diplomacy at 47% positive vs. 36% negative, labor at 43% vs. 37%, and economy at 43% vs. 38%, with positive evaluations outnumbering negatives in these areas. On the other hand, inter-Korean policy (35% positive vs. 37% negative), appointments of public officials (34% vs. 39%), and real estate policy (32% vs. 35%) showed similar levels of positive and negative evaluations.

Regarding the recently announced prosecution reform plan, 51% expressed support while 37% were opposed. By political orientation, 82% of progressives and 56% of moderates supported the plan, while 61% of conservatives opposed it. According to the government reorganization plan, the prosecution office will be abolished, and a new Public Prosecution Office and Major Crimes Investigation Agency will be established.

In terms of party support, the Democratic Party of Korea ranked first with 42%, followed by the People Power Party at 24%. Compared to the previous week, support for the Democratic Party increased by 1 percentage point, while support for the People Power Party remained the same.

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