SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s (pic) approval rating dropped for the fifth consecutive week, with negative views of his performance surpassing positive ones for the first time since he took office, according to a poll released on June 22.
The survey by local pollster Realmeter found that 46.7 per cent of respondents approved of the job Lee was doing, down 4.8 percentage points from the previous week.
June 22 marked the first time his approval rating had fallen below 50 per cent since he assumed office on June 4, 2025.
Lee’s approval rating has been on a downward trajectory, falling from 60.5 per cent in the second week of May to 51.5 per cent in the second week of June. The rating stood at 59.3 per cent, 59.1 per cent and 55.2 per cent in the intervening weeks.
Negative evaluations rose 5.5 percentage points to 49.7 per cent, placing them ahead of positive ratings, though still within the survey’s margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
The remaining 3.6 per cent of respondents said they were unsure.
By comparison, former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s disapproval rating surpassed his approval rating in June 2022, only six weeks into his term. The same crossover occurred roughly 16 months into former President Park Geun-hye’s presidency in June 2014 and 19 months into former President Moon Jae-in’s term in December 2018, according to Realmeter polls.
The decline in Lee’s approval rating was driven by ballot shortages during the June 3 local elections and growing divisions within the ruling Democratic Party of Korea over its leadership race ahead of the Aug 17 convention to elect a new party chair, according to the pollster.
Realmeter attributed the decline to “growing demands for accountability following the election management fiasco and escalating infighting within the ruling party over its leadership race”.
The pollster analysed that “both (issues) have weighed negatively on the broader political landscape despite some positive factors, including the perceived success of Lee’s European trip and the Kospi’s breakthrough above the 9,000-point mark.”
Concerns over widening disparities in the asset market appeared to erode support among moderate voters and residents of the Greater Seoul area, which includes Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, the pollster added.
The nationwide survey was conducted from June 15 to June 19 among 2,517 voters aged 18 and above using an automated response system.
Among the regions surveyed, Lee’s approval rating saw the steepest decline in the conservative strongholds of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, falling 9.9 percentage points to 34.6 per cent.
In Greater Seoul, his approval rating dropped 7.6 percentage points to 44.8 per cent in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province and 7.6 percentage points to 39.8 per cent in capital Seoul.
By political ideology, positive assessments among moderates fell 4.9 percentage points to 47.5 per cent. Support among liberals declined 3.2 percentage points to 80.4 per cent, while approval among conservatives edged down 0.7 percentage point to 19.8 per cent.
In response to the poll results, the presidential office said it would accept the numbers humbly and take greater heed of people’s concerns and expectations.
“We view the recent fluctuations in the approval rating as a result of the public’s assessment of both economic conditions and the overall conduct of state affairs,” Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement. “We take these results seriously and with humility, and will pay even closer attention to what the people are concerned about and what they expect from the government.”
A separate Realmeter survey conducted with 1,001 voters aged 18 and older on June 18 and 19 found that support for the conservative People Power Party remained ahead of the Democratic Party for a second straight week, though the gap had narrowed.
Support for the Democratic Party rose 2.1 percentage points to 40.1 per cent, while support for the main opposition People Power Party slipped 2 percentage points to 42.3 per cent.
Realmeter said the People Power Party faced mounting pressure in responding to controversies surrounding ballot shortages during the June 3 local elections, including debates over holding a full rerun and abolishing early voting.
“The party’s approval rating turned downward as internal conflicts, including disputes over (calls for) the leadership’s resignation, overlapped with those controversies, weakening cohesion among conservative voters and leading to a continued exodus of younger voters in their 20s and 30s,” the pollster said.
By age, the People Power Party’s approval rating fell 10.5 percentage points to 48.6 per cent among voters in their 20s and 5.1 percentage points to 47.4 per cent among those in their 30s.
The pollster attributed the Democratic Party’s rise to what it described as a crisis-management phase following a bipartisan agreement to launch a National Assembly investigation into the election administration failures.
“Despite factional tensions within the party, an emphasis on unity behind the government’s success helped strengthen support among its base, leading to a rebound in the party’s approval rating,” Realmeter said. - The Korea Herald/ANN
