Lee's approval rating falls to 44.2%, down 3.5 points: poll

A poll released Thursday showed President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating at 44.2%, with the Democratic Party of Korea at 44.7% and the People Power Party at 30.1%.

The survey, conducted by Media Tomato on Monday and Tuesday among 1,033 adults aged 18 and older nationwide, found that 42.2% gave Lee a positive assessment of his job performance, while 51.8% gave a negative one. The gap of 7.6 percentage points between the two figures falls within the margin of error. Compared with the previous poll, the positive rating dropped 3.5 percentage points and the negative rating rose 3.3 percentage points.

By age group, respondents in their 40s gave Lee a positive rating of 57.4%, outpacing the negative rating of 40.3% by a margin outside the error range. Among those aged 18 to 29 and those in their 30s, negative ratings exceeded positive ones by a margin outside the error range. In the 18-to-29 age group, the positive rating stood at 35.4% and the negative at 62.0%; among those in their 30s, the positive rating was 29.4% and the negative 65.8%.

By region, Gwangju, South Jeolla Province and North Jeolla Province recorded a combined positive rating of 68.5%, well ahead of the negative rating of 31.5% by a margin outside the error range. In Seoul and the Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang Province area, negative ratings were higher. Seoul showed a positive rating of 39.3% against a negative of 55.3%, while the Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang area recorded 37.5% positive and 58.9% negative.

Support for both the Democratic Party and the People Power Party declined. The Democratic Party's rating fell 1.5 percentage points from the previous poll to 44.7%, while the People Power Party dropped 0.9 percentage points to 30.1%. The Rebuilding Korea Party followed at 3.9%, the Reform Party at 3.6% and the Progressive Party at 2.1%.

The poll was conducted via automated response system on mobile phones. It carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.