[Polpol News] President Lee's Approval Rating Drops by 1.3%p After Chuseok, Now at 52.2%

Realmeter Poll Results
Impact of Tariff Negotiations and Network Outage
Criticism Over Delayed Response to Cambodia Incident

President Lee Jaemyung's approval rating for state affairs showed a slight decline following the Chuseok holiday period.

According to a public opinion poll released on the 20th by Realmeter (commissioned by Energy Economy News, conducted from October 10 to 17 among 2,518 voters aged 18 and older nationwide via automated wireless phone response, with a margin of error of ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level and a response rate of 4.7%), President Lee's approval rating for state affairs stood at 52.2%, down 1.3 percentage points from the previous survey conducted before the Chuseok holiday (the first week of October). The disapproval rating rose by 1.6 percentage points to 44.9%.

Yonhap News Agency

President Lee's approval rating declined from the beginning of the week, due to a combination of factors including ongoing difficulties in the Korea-US tariff negotiations, his appearance on an entertainment program during a nationwide network outage that became an issue during the holiday, among others. Realmeter explained, "In the middle of the week, the approval rating stagnated in the low 50% range due to criticism over the government's delayed response to the Cambodia abduction and detention incident, as well as growing concerns about a rental housing shortage following the announcement of strong real estate measures."

In a separate party support poll (commissioned by Energy Economy News, conducted from October 16 to 17 among 1,008 voters aged 18 and older nationwide via automated wireless phone 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 rating fell by 0.7 percentage points to 46.5%. The People Power Party's support rating rose by 0.8 percentage points to 36.7%. The Cho Kuk Innovation Party recorded 3.1%, the Reform New Party 3.0%, and the Progressive Party 1.4%.

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