Lee's approval rating falls to 47.7%; voters in their 20s drop 18.8 points in a week

A new poll released Thursday shows President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has slipped into the 40 percent range, with positive assessments among voters in their 20s plunging 18.8 percentage points in a single week.

The survey, conducted by pollster Media Tomato on behalf of News Tomato on Monday and Tuesday among 1,037 adults aged 18 and older nationwide, found that 47.7 percent gave Lee a positive rating on his management of state affairs, while 48.5 percent gave a negative rating. Some 3.8 percent said they were unsure.

Compared with the previous week's poll, the positive rating fell 4.0 percentage points from 51.7 percent, while the negative rating rose 4.9 percentage points from 43.6 percent.

By age group, respondents in their 20s gave a positive rating of 33.9 percent and a negative rating of 59.0 percent — a drop of 18.8 percentage points in positive assessments from the prior week.

Those in their 30s recorded 36.6 percent positive and 61.0 percent negative. Respondents in their 40s came in at 53.2 percent positive and 45.7 percent negative, while those in their 50s showed 59.3 percent positive and 38.5 percent negative.

Among respondents in their 60s, 49.1 percent gave a positive rating and 48.2 percent a negative one. Those aged 70 and older recorded 49.5 percent positive and 42.5 percent negative.

By region, Seoul recorded 45.5 percent positive and 51.2 percent negative. The Daejeon, Chungcheong and Sejong region came in at 39.1 percent positive and 60.1 percent negative — a decline of 10.3 percentage points from the previous week. By contrast, the Gwangju and Jeolla region recorded 62.2 percent positive and 37.8 percent negative.

By political orientation, self-identified moderates gave a negative rating of 49.7 percent against a positive rating of 42.9 percent. Conservatives recorded 22.7 percent positive and 75.5 percent negative, while progressives came in at 70.8 percent positive and 27.9 percent negative — a drop of 5.7 percentage points in positive assessments from the prior week.

The poll was conducted via automated response system using random-digit dialing on mobile phones. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.0 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.