Lee Jae-myung approval holds at 37%, lowest since taking office, in Gallup Korea poll
In short
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's job approval stood at 37% in a Gallup Korea poll released on October 9, unchanged from the previous survey three weeks earlier and still the lowest since he took office. Disapproval fell 5 percentage points to 51%. Support for the Democratic Party dropped 5 points to 35%, its lowest since the current government began, while the People Power Party slipped 1 point to 26%.
Read the full story 2 min read
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's job approval rating was 37% in a Gallup Korea poll released on October 9, the same as the previous survey in the third week of September, which had been the lowest since he took office. Gallup Korea surveyed 1,000 adults aged 18 and over nationwide on October 6-8. Disapproval stood at 51%, down 5 percentage points from 56% in the previous survey, which Seoul Shinmun, Korea Economic Daily and Hankook Ilbo said had been the highest since Lee took office. Twelve percent of respondents gave no opinion. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
Seoul Shinmun and Korea Economic Daily reported that Lee's approval had set new lows for four consecutive surveys before this one, and that the decline had now stopped. Kyunghyang Shinmun said this was the first Gallup Korea poll since Lee's press conference on September 18. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
Real estate policy was the most cited reason for disapproval at 18%, followed by defence, security and North Korea at 15% and the curtailing of prosecutors' powers and abolition of the Prosecutors' Office at 8%. Kukmin Ilbo reported that the share citing defence and security rose from 3% in the previous survey. Gallup Korea said real estate had topped the list since the fourth week of July and that the rise in criticism over defence and prosecution reform was presumably influenced by a mine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone and the October 2 launch of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (중대범죄수사청) and the Gongso-cheong (공소청) prosecution agency. Kukmin Ilbo linked the change to an incident in which a South Korean soldier was injured by a mine North Korean troops had laid south of the Military Demarcation Line. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]
Among reasons for approval, diplomacy was cited most at 24%, followed by the economy and livelihoods at 14% and general good performance at 7%. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]
In party support, the Democratic Party fell 5 points to 35%, its lowest since the current government took office, and the People Power Party fell 1 point to 26%. The Rebuilding Korea Party had 3%, the Reform Party 2% and the Progressive Party 1%, while 31% backed no party. Hankook Ilbo reported that the gap between the two main parties narrowed to within 10 points for the third time, after the first and second weeks of September. [ 3 , 4 , 6 , 7 ]
By region, Newsis reported approval of 65% in South Jeolla, Gwangju and North Jeolla, 31% in Seoul and 26% in Daegu and North Gyeongsang. The survey was conducted by telephone interviewers calling randomly selected mobile virtual numbers, with a sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level and a response rate of 9.7%. [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
Why it matters
The poll halted a run in which Lee's approval had set new lows for four consecutive surveys, but left it at that low point. Defence, security and North Korea policy rose to the second most cited reason for disapproval, which Gallup Korea linked to a mine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone, while the ruling party's support fell to its lowest level under the current government.
Key facts
- Gallup Korea surveyed 1,000 adults aged 18 and over nationwide on October 6-8 and released the results on October 9. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 7 , 8 ]
- 37% rated Lee's job performance positively, the same as the previous survey three weeks earlier; 51% rated it negatively, down 5 points, and 12% gave no opinion. [ 3 , 4 , 7 , 8 ]
- Real estate policy was the top reason for disapproval at 18%, followed by defence, security and North Korea (15%) and the curtailing of prosecutors' powers and abolition of the Prosecutors' Office (8%). [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]
- Diplomacy was the top reason for approval at 24%, followed by the economy and livelihoods at 14%. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]
- The Democratic Party fell 5 points to 35%, its lowest since the current government took office; the People Power Party fell 1 point to 26%. [ 3 , 4 , 6 , 7 ]
- The Rebuilding Korea Party had 3%, the Reform Party 2% and the Progressive Party 1%; 31% backed no party. [ 4 , 7 ]
- The sampling error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 9.7%. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Lee Jae-myung's approval rating was 37% in the Gallup Korea poll, the same as the previous survey. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- Disapproval fell 5 percentage points to 51%. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- Real estate policy was the most cited reason for disapproval at 18%, with defence, security and North Korea second at 15%. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]
- Democratic Party support fell 5 points to 35%, the lowest since the current government took office. [ 3 , 4 , 6 , 7 ]
- People Power Party support fell 1 point to 26%. [ 1 , 3 , 6 , 7 ]
Still unclear
- Defence, security and North Korea policy as a reason for disapproval rose from 3% to 15%. Only Kukmin Ilbo gives the previous 3% figure.
- Only respondents in their 50s rated Lee more positively than negatively, at 55% to 38%. The age breakdown is reported only by Kukmin Ilbo.
- What drove the rise in defence and prosecution-related criticism. Gallup Korea said it presumed the DMZ mine explosion and the October 2 launch of new investigative and prosecution agencies played a role; Kukmin Ilbo described the cause as its own interpretation, citing a soldier injured by a mine North Korean troops laid south of the Military Demarcation Line.