President Lee Jae-myung's job approval rating fell to 42%, the lowest since he took office, according to a poll released on the 28th.
The survey by Gallup Korea, conducted from the 25th to the 27th among 1,001 eligible voters aged 18 and older nationwide, found that 42% of respondents said Lee was doing a good job. That marked a drop of 3 percentage points from the previous survey and the lowest reading since he took office.
Disapproval rose 5 percentage points from the previous survey to 50%, while 8% withheld an opinion. By Gallup Korea's measure, the approval figure was the lowest and the disapproval figure the highest since Lee's inauguration.
Among those who approved, the most cited reasons were diplomacy at 16%, the economy and livelihoods at 11%, communication at 10%, and general satisfaction and housing policy at 7% each. Among those who disapproved, housing policy was the most cited reason at 27%, followed by curbing prosecutors' powers, the economy and livelihoods, and questions of integrity and avoiding his own trials at 7% each, and general dissatisfaction, defense and security, and authoritarian or unilateral rule at 5% each. Housing policy has ranked as the top reason for disapproval for four consecutive weeks since the fourth week of July.
In party support, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea fell 2 percentage points to 39%. The People Power Party stood at 25%, trailing the Democratic Party by 14 percentage points. Among moderates, 37% backed the Democratic Party and 18% the People Power Party. The Rebuilding Korea Party rose 2 percentage points from the previous survey to 4%, a shift attributed to hardline Democratic Party supporters moving to the party after Kim Min-seok took over as Democratic Party leader. The New Reform Party stood at 3% and the Progressive Party at 1%.
The survey was conducted through computer-assisted telephone interviews using randomly selected virtual mobile numbers provided by the country's three wireless carriers. The response rate was 9.5%. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.
