South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s approval rating falls to a low
In South Korea, approval of President Lee Jae-myung’s performance has fallen to its lowest level since the start of his term. According to a Realmeter poll commissioned by the EKN newspaper, 33.8% of respondents gave a positive assessment of the head of state’s work, down 3.6 percentage points from a week earlier. This was reported by The Korea Herald.
Ninth week of decline
The survey covered 2,515 adult citizens and was conducted from Monday to Friday. The share of respondents who negatively assess the president’s performance rose by 3.8 percentage points over the week, to 63.3%. This marked the ninth consecutive week of declining support for Lee Jae-myung.
Realmeter linked the drop in the rating to a negative reaction to controversies surrounding recent personnel changes in the government, the possible deployment of military assets in the Strait of Hormuz, and uncertainty over real estate policy. The company also recorded a significant decline in support among liberal voters and young people: among respondents aged 18 to 29, the figure fell by 10.2 percentage points.
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Controversy over government nominees
Lee’s nominees for justice minister and gender equality minister have been at the center of controversy in recent weeks. Yong Hye-in, a lawmaker from the small Basic Income Party who was nominated for gender equality minister, withdrew her nomination on Sunday amid criticism over allegations of nepotism and her intention to retain her proportional representation parliamentary seat even if appointed to the government.
Justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won faced allegations that he illegally lobbied government authorities in 2021 to approve a drug for the treatment of COVID-19. The margin of error for the first survey was plus or minus 2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
In another Realmeter poll, support for the ruling Democratic Party fell by 5.7 percentage points to 36.1%. At the same time, support for the main opposition People Power Party rose by 4.5 percentage points to 42.1%. This survey was conducted among 1,003 people aged 18 and over; its margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
