President Lee Jae-myung’s approval rebounds 2 points to 39%, disapproval at 52% (Gallup Korea)
First seen · Oct 17, 4:04 AM (Seoul) · Last updated · Oct 17, 4:04 AM (Seoul)
President Lee Jae-myung’s job approval rose 2 percentage points to 39% in Gallup Korea’s third-week October poll. Disapproval also rose 1 point to 52%, with real estate policy the most cited reason.
What happened
According to Gallup Korea’s survey of 1,003 adults aged 18 and older nationwide, conducted Oct. 13–15 and released Oct. 16, 39% approved of Lee’s performance, up 2 points from the previous poll. Disapproval rose 1 point to 52%, and 9% gave no opinion. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and the response rate was 10.4%.
Why it's trending
Lee’s approval had been sliding since hitting 45% in the third week of August, falling to a post-inauguration low of 37% in the third week of September and again in the second week of October before this rebound. Gallup Korea said the downtrend that began before the Chuseok holiday appeared to have paused in October.
Reactions
Top reasons for disapproval were real estate policy (19%), handling of the economy, livelihoods and the stock market (12%), and defense, security and North Korea (11%). Top reasons for approval were diplomacy (20%), the economy and livelihoods (11%), and communication (7%). Approval stood at 65% among progressives, 40% among moderates and 16% among conservatives.
What to watch
Party support was 36% for the Democratic Party and 27% for the People Power Party. With the KOSPI plunging more than 7% on Oct. 15, the last day of the survey, and impeachment talk against the chief justice going public on Oct. 16, attention is on the next poll.