[Polpol News] 42% Prefer Ruling Party Majority in Next Year's Local Elections vs 35% for Opposition Majority

Gallup Poll Results
60% Positive Rating for President Lee's Performance, Ruling Party Leads in Support
Economic Optimism Rises by 7 Percentage Points

Regarding next year's local elections, a majority of respondents said they would like to see more ruling party candidates elected. In the Yeongnam region, however, there was a stronger preference for opposition party candidates to win. Six out of ten people evaluated President Lee Jaemyung's performance positively.

Yonhap News

According to a public opinion poll released by Gallup on the 21st (conducted from the 18th to the 20th through wireless phone interviews with 1,000 people aged 18 or older nationwide, with a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level and a response rate of 12.5%), 42% of respondents said that "many ruling party candidates should be elected" in the local elections, which are now seven months away. Meanwhile, 35% responded that "many opposition party candidates should be elected." Gallup noted that, considering the margin of error (±3.1 percentage points), the results were "almost even," but added that "while moderates were evenly split last month, this month they leaned toward the ruling party, slightly widening the overall gap." In the third week of October, 39% preferred more ruling party candidates, while 36% preferred more opposition party candidates.

By region, the preference for more Democratic Party candidates was dominant in Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi, the capital area, Chungcheong, and Honam. In contrast, in the Yeongnam region (Daegu, Gyeongbuk, Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam), more respondents wanted opposition party candidates to win.

In terms of party support, the Democratic Party's approval rating rose by 1 percentage point from last week to 43%. The People Power Party's approval rating remained unchanged from last week at 24%.

Yonhap News Agency

Regarding President Lee Jaemyung's job performance, 60% of respondents said he was "doing well." This is a 1 percentage point increase from last week's survey. The percentage of those who said he was "doing poorly" was 30%, down 2 percentage points from last week. Among those who evaluated President Lee's performance positively (698 people), 34% cited diplomacy and 14% cited the economy and livelihoods as reasons. Among those who evaluated him negatively (304 people), 12% pointed to issues of morality and evasion of personal trials, while 11% cited the Daejang-dong case and pressure to abandon prosecution appeals.

On the 27th, when the KOSPI, South Korea's representative stock index, surpassed the 4000 mark for the first time in history, dealers were working in the dealing room at the headquarters of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. 2025.10.27 Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Meanwhile, when asked about the economic outlook for the next year, 40% responded that it would "improve," 35% said it would "worsen," and 22% said it would "remain about the same." Compared to last month, optimism rose by 7 percentage points while pessimism fell by 7 percentage points. A Gallup official explained, "This appears to be due to the conclusion of the Korea-US tariff negotiations and the KOSPI surpassing the 4000 mark for the first time," adding, "Economic optimism reached a record high of 52% in June this year, right after the current administration took office, marking the highest level in eight years."

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