[PollPollNews] President Lee's Approval Rating Falls for Second Consecutive Week... Supreme Court Chief Justice Resignation Controversy Seen as Negative Factor

Realmeter Poll Results
Declines in Busan, South Gyeongsang, Among Those in Their 60s, and Moderates
Democratic Party 44.2%, People Power Party 38.6%

President Lee Jaemyung's approval rating for state affairs has declined for the second consecutive week, dropping to the low 50% range, according to a recent public opinion poll. The controversy surrounding Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Heedae's resignation is believed to have had a negative impact on the approval rating.

According to a poll released by Realmeter on September 22 (commissioned by Energy Economy News, conducted from September 15 to 19 among 2,526 voters aged 18 and older via 100% wireless automated response, with a margin of error of ±1.9 percentage points at a 95% confidence level and a response rate of 5.3%), President Lee's approval rating in his 16th week in office fell by 1.5 percentage points from the previous week to 53.0%. The disapproval rating rose by 2.5 percentage points to 43.6%.

President Lee Jae-myung waves to the audience before watching the official screening of the Busan International Film Festival film "Times of the Theater" at the Busan Cinema Center in Haeundae-gu, Busan, on the 20th. Photo by Yonhap News.

By region, the most significant decline was observed in Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Province (down 5.8 percentage points, from 54.6% to 48.8%). By age group, those in their 60s saw a drop of 5.1 percentage points (from 54.7% to 49.6%), and among moderates by ideological orientation, support fell by 3.7 percentage points (from 57.0% to 53.3%).

Realmeter explained, "Last week, there were positive economic and livelihood policy developments such as the KOSPI surpassing 3,400, the creation of 40,000 youth jobs, and the launch of the National Growth Fund. However, political issues-including remarks supporting the resignation of the Supreme Court Chief Justice, controversy over the separation of powers, and the special prosecutor's search and seizure of the People Power Party-offset the effects of these livelihood policies and negatively impacted the approval rating, resulting in a continued downward trend."

In a separate poll on party support (commissioned by Energy Economy News, conducted from September 18 to 19 among 1,007 voters aged 18 and older via 100% wireless automated response, with a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level and a response rate of 4.4%), the Democratic Party of Korea's support rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 44.2%, while the People Power Party rose by 2.2 percentage points to 38.6%. The Reform New Party recorded 4.1%, and the Cho Kuk Innovation Party stood at 1.9%.

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