President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating slips after brief rise, poll shows

Realmeter conducted a nationwide poll of 2,515 adults between last Monday and Friday, reporting that President Lee Jae Myung’s approval rating decreased to 37.4%, down 0.5 percentage points from the previous week, while disapproval stood at 59.8%, a 0.3-point decline. The temporary increase in Lee’s rating over the prior two weeks had been attributed to his clarification of key issues at a Sept. 18 press conference and the announcement of welfare policies funded by excess tax revenue.

However, negative factors such as controversy over the creation of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Prosecution Service, the appointment of the SCIA chief, a recent land-mine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone, diplomatic friction with Ukraine, and concerns about housing rental prices in the Seoul metropolitan area appear to have outweighed the positives. In a separate survey of 1,009 voters commissioned by the EKN newspaper, support for the ruling Democratic Party rose to 42.5%, up 3.8 points, while backing for the opposition People Power Party slipped to 38.4%, down one point. Both polls carry margins of error of about 2-3 percentage points at a 95 % confidence level.