President Lee Jae-myung's Approval Rating Declines for the First Time Since Taking Office

A recent survey conducted by Realmeter, commissioned by the Energy Economy Newspaper, reveals that President Lee Jae-myung's (이재명) approval rating has dropped for the first time since his inauguration. The poll, conducted from July 14 to 18, shows that 62.2% of respondents rated his performance positively, a decrease of 2.4 percentage points from 64.6% in the previous week (July 7 to 9). Conversely, the percentage of those who viewed his performance negatively rose from 30.0% to 32.3%, an increase of 2.3 percentage points.

This decline is primarily attributed to a drop in support among conservative voters, where positive evaluations of President Lee fell from 39.7% to 35.0%, a decrease of 4.7 percentage points. Regionally, his approval rating in Seoul decreased by 7.4 percentage points to 58%, while in Gwangju and Jeolla (호남), it fell by 5.9 percentage points to 79.7%. In Daegu and Gyeongbuk (TK), the rating dropped by 3.8 percentage points to 54.8%, and in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (PK), it decreased by 2.7 percentage points to 55.9%. In Incheon and Gyeonggi, the approval rating fell by 1.5 percentage points to 63.0%. However, in Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong, it increased by 4.5 percentage points to 66.2%.

In terms of party support, the Democratic Party (더불어민주당) leads with 50.8%, although this is a decline of 5.4 percentage points from the previous week. The People Power Party (국민의힘) saw an increase of 3.1 percentage points, reaching 27.4%. The Reform Party (개혁신당) and the Justice Party (진보당) recorded 3.9% and 1.3%, respectively, while other parties garnered 4.1% support, and 8.6% of respondents identified as undecided.

Realmeter noted that this marks a shift after four weeks of the Democratic Party's steady rise and the People Power Party's increase. The decline in approval ratings coincides with the unsuccessful explanations during the confirmation hearings for Ministerial candidates Kang Seon-woo (강선우) and Lee Jin-sook (이진숙), alongside strong calls for resignation from the opposition, which likely impacted the Democratic Party's support.

The survey was conducted using an automated response system (ARS) with 2,514 participants aged 18 and older across the nation from July 7 to 9. The response rate was 5.2%, with a margin of error of ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more details, please refer to the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission's website.