President Lee's Approval Rating Drops to 34.9%, Disapproval at 58.8%

President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating has fallen to 34.9%, the lowest level recorded since he took office, according to a recent survey by the Korea Social Opinion Institute (KSOI).
 
In a regular poll released on October 14, KSOI reported that President Lee's positive evaluation of his governance dropped by 3.6 percentage points from the previous survey. The disapproval rating increased by 1.0 percentage point to 58.8%, widening the gap between approval and disapproval to 23.9 percentage points.
 
Disapproval ratings exceeded 50% across all age groups, with the highest disapproval at 65.6% among those in their 60s, followed by 63.6% in their 30s and 63.2% among those aged 70 and older.
 
Regionally, all areas except for Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk reported disapproval ratings above 50%. In Honam, the approval rating was 48.9%, which, while higher than the disapproval rating of 40.6%, represented a decline of 12.9 percentage points compared to the previous survey.
 
The primary reasons for disapproval included concerns over diplomacy and security at 17.6%, followed by economic recovery at 16.6% and national unity at 15.4%. KSOI analyzed that issues related to diplomacy and security, controversies over real estate and agricultural policies, and personnel verification problems have collectively impacted the decline in approval ratings.
 
In terms of party support, the ruling People Power Party stands at 37.1%, while the Democratic Party of Korea is at 34.9%, with a margin of 2.2 percentage points falling within the margin of error.
 
The survey was conducted from October 12 to 13 among 1,001 eligible voters aged 18 and older using a wireless ARS automated response method. The response rate was 5.8%, and the margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. More details can be found on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.