President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since he took office, extending a steady decline. Discontent over domestic issues such as housing and personnel appointments has accumulated, and growing pessimism about the economy has pushed the rating sharply lower just five months after it hit a peak.
Gallup Korea said on the 18th that positive assessments of Lee's performance stood at 37%, down 1 percentage point from the previous week, in a survey of 1,002 adults aged 18 and over conducted from the 15th to the 17th. Negative assessments surged 5 percentage points to 56%, widening the gap with positive assessments to 19 percentage points. Lee's approval rating has nearly halved in five months after peaking at 67% in the fourth week of April this year. It has set a new post-inauguration low for four consecutive weeks.
Analysts say the loss of public support is accelerating as criticism over housing policy and appointments intensifies, compounded by controversies including a special counsel probe into the withdrawal of indictments and a constitutional amendment on consecutive presidential terms. Respondents most often cited housing policy (20%) as the reason for their negative assessment, followed by appointments (16%) and the economy and livelihoods (9%).
Growing pessimism about the economy also appears to be weighing on the rating. Only 27% said they expect the economy to improve over the next year, while 42% said they expect it to worsen. That marks a 25 percentage point drop from June last year, just after the Lee administration took office, when 52% were optimistic. The shift is read as a sign of rising anxiety about the economy amid concerns over high oil prices and inflation, as well as mounting external uncertainty.
Support for the Democratic Party of Korea rose 2 percentage points from the previous week to 40%, moving in the opposite direction from the president's rating. Still, that is 8 percentage points below the 48% peak recorded in April. Support for the People Power Party fell 2 percentage points to 27%, widening the gap between the two parties to 13 percentage points.
