President Lee's Approval Rating Recovers to Early 60%... Gallup: "Up 6%p to 63%" [PolPol News]

Gallup Poll Results
Analysis of the Impact of APEC Summit in Gyeongju
Positive Assessment of Diplomacy, Economy, and Livelihoods

President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating for his administration has rebounded to the 60% range. Diplomatic achievements, such as the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit and the South Korea-U.S. and South Korea-China summits, have contributed to the rise in approval ratings.

According to a public opinion poll released on the 7th by Gallup Korea (conducted from the 4th to the 6th through telephone interviews with 1,002 men and women aged 18 or older nationwide, using wireless phones; the margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 12.7%), President Lee's approval rating stood at 63%, up 6 percentage points from the previous week. Since the fourth week of September, President Lee's approval rating had remained in the mid-50% range, but it has now returned to the level seen at the beginning of his term. The disapproval rating dropped by 4 percentage points to 29%.

Among those who positively evaluated President Lee's job performance (630 respondents), 30% cited diplomacy as the main reason. Other reasons included the economy and people's livelihoods (13%), and the achievements at the APEC Summit (7%). Among those who gave a negative evaluation (288 respondents), 14% pointed to issues of morality and evasion of personal trials, while 11% cited diplomacy.

President Lee Jae-myung is leaving the plenary session hall after delivering the presidential policy speech on the 2026 budget bill and fund management plan at the National Assembly main building in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 4th. 2025.11.04 Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Regarding the APEC Summit in Gyeongju, 74% of respondents said it was beneficial to South Korea's national interests, while 13% said it was not. As for negotiations with the United States (reciprocal tariffs, investment in the U.S.), 55% responded that the government performed well, while 26% said it did not.

In terms of party support, the approval rating for the Democratic Party of Korea fell by 1 percentage point to 40%, while the People Power Party remained unchanged from the previous week at 26%.

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