President Lee Jae-myung approval rating drops slightly

President Lee Jae-myung’s approval rating stood at 58 percent as he marked his 100th day in office.

According to a Gallup Korea survey conducted Sept. 9–11 of 1,002 adults nationwide aged 18 and older, 58 percent said Lee was doing a good job, while 34 percent said he was doing poorly. In the first week of September, 63 percent gave positive marks and 28 percent negative.

While his approval had rebounded into the 60 percent range the previous week for the first time in about six weeks, it slipped back into the 50s a week later. The most common reason for positive views was “economy and livelihood” at 14 percent, followed by “diplomacy” at 12 percent, and “communication” and “doing well overall” at 7 percent each. For negative assessments, “diplomacy” topped the list at 22 percent, followed by “poor overall performance” at 8 percent and “excessive welfare and livelihood subsidies” at 7 percent.

Gallup Korea said, “Diplomacy has reemerged as the top reason for negative evaluations,” adding that the shift likely reflects the arrests and detention of about 300 South Korean workers on suspicion of illegal or unauthorized stay at a battery plant construction site in the U.S. state of Georgia.

In the party support survey, the Democratic Party of Korea registered 42 percent and the People Power Party 24 percent.

Separately, a survey commissioned by KBS and conducted by Hankook Research from Sept. 8–10 of 1,000 adults showed Lee’s approval at 66 percent, with 29 percent disapproving. Another survey commissioned by MBC and conducted by Korea Research on Sept. 9–10 with 1,003 adults found 63 percent positive and 28 percent negative. Gallup Korea, Hankook Research, and Korea Research all used 100 percent mobile phone interviews. For details, refer to the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.


이상헌 dapaper@donga.com