President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating fell to 40%, the lowest since he took office, while disapproval reached 51%, the highest level of his presidency. Housing policy was the most cited reason for disapproval at 23%, and discontent over personnel appointments rose to 9% following the second Cabinet reshuffle carried out on the 30th of last month. The People Power Party, meanwhile, hit a high of 30% — its first time reaching that level since the current government took office.
According to a Gallup Korea survey of 1,001 adults aged 18 and over conducted from the 1st to the 3rd and released on the 4th, positive assessments of Lee's performance came to 40%, down 2 percentage points from the previous week. Negative assessments stood at 51%, unchanged from a week earlier. The gap between positive and negative assessments widened to 11 percentage points.
Housing policy topped the list of reasons for disapproval at 23%. It has ranked first among reasons for negative assessments continuously since the fourth week of July. The economy and household livelihoods followed at 11%, with personnel appointments at 9%. Gallup Korea attributed the negative view of appointments to the recent replacement of ministers at six government departments.
By age group, support was lowest among those in their 20s aged 18 and over at 25%, followed by those in their 30s at 31%, those in their 60s and those 70 and over at 37% each, those in their 50s at 49% and those in their 40s at 55%. Disapproval was highest among respondents in their 30s at 60%, followed by those in their 60s at 58%, those in their 20s aged 18 and over at 53%, those 70 and over at 48%, those in their 50s at 47% and those in their 40s at 42%.
Party support showed a marked gain for the People Power Party. The Democratic Party slipped 1 percentage point from the previous week to 38%, while the People Power Party rose 5 percentage points to 30%. It is the first time the People Power Party has reached 30% since the current government took office. The gap between the two parties also narrowed to 8 percentage points, falling into single digits for the first time since May 2025. Unaffiliated voters accounted for 25%.
In preferences for a future political leader, independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon led with 9%, followed by Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok at 7% and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon at 5%. Former Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk and People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk each drew 4%, while People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-sook, Democratic Party lawmaker Jung Chung-rae, presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik and Democratic Party lawmaker Song Young-gil each drew 2%. Because the question was open-ended, 55% of respondents named no one.
Opinion was closely split on relocating the administrative capital. Some 48% said moving it to Sejong would be preferable, while 44% favored keeping it in Seoul. On moving the presidential office to Sejong, opposition prevailed, with 38% in favor and 53% against. Relocating the National Assembly to Sejong, by contrast, drew majority support at 52%, ahead of 38% opposed.
On public agencies in the greater Seoul area, 57% said relocating them outside the region would be preferable, compared with 34% who said they should stay.
The survey was conducted through telephone interviews using randomly generated virtual mobile numbers. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a contact rate of 47.4% and a response rate of 10.9%. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.
The survey was conducted through telephone interviews using randomly generated virtual mobile numbers. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 10.9%. Further details can be found on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.
