Lee's approval rating drops 7 points to 57% in 3 weeks

21% of supporters cite economy and livelihoods as top reason for positive rating; 16% of critics point to ballot shortage and election commission problems; People Power Party hits post-inauguration high at 29%; 44% favor re-election in affected districts, 48% opposed

President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a joint press conference with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome on Thursday local time. [Yonhap]

By Joo So-hyun, The Herald Business

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has fallen to 57 percent, down 7 percentage points from the previous survey, according to polling results released Friday. A separate question on whether affected districts should hold a full re-election following the June 3 local elections ballot shortage found 44 percent in favor and 48 percent opposed.

Gallup Korea surveyed 1,002 registered voters aged 18 and older nationwide from June 9 to 11, finding that 57 percent gave Lee a positive job performance rating while 35 percent rated him negatively; 8 percent withheld judgment. Compared with Gallup Korea's third-week-of-May survey conducted May 19–21, the positive rating fell 7 percentage points and the negative rating rose by the same margin.

The 57 percent reading marks the first time Lee's approval rating has fallen into the 50s since the first week of February — roughly four months ago. His rating broke through 60 percent in the second week of February, reached a peak of 67 percent in the third week of March, and then hovered between 65 and 67 percent through the fourth week of April.

Among respondents who rated Lee positively, the most commonly cited reason was the economy and livelihoods at 21 percent, followed by diplomacy at 12 percent, general good performance at 9 percent, communication at 8 percent, competence and capability and welfare policy for ordinary people at 5 percent each, share price gains at 4 percent, and drive and execution at 3 percent.

Among those who rated Lee negatively, 16 percent cited the ballot shortage, alleged election irregularities and problems at the National Election Commission. That was followed by the economy, livelihoods and the high exchange rate at 14 percent; real estate policy at 9 percent; ethical concerns and avoidance of his own trial at 8 percent; general poor performance and authoritarian or unilateral conduct at 6 percent each; and the introduction of a special prosecutor act to drop charges and excessive welfare and livelihood subsidies at 5 percent each.

In party support, the Democratic Party of Korea stood at 41 percent, the People Power Party at 29 percent, and the Cho Guk Innovation Party, Reform Party and Progressive Party at 2 percent each. The Democratic Party's support fell 4 percentage points from the third-week-of-May survey, while the People Power Party's rose 7 points over the same period — its highest level since the Lee administration took office. Those with no party affiliation accounted for 21 percent.

Asked about the ballot shortage that occurred in some districts during the June 3 local elections, 67 percent of respondents described it as poor election management and an infringement of voting rights. Twenty-five percent called it evidence of illegal election interference or an attempt at electoral fraud, while 8 percent withheld judgment.

Opinion was closely divided on whether the ballot shortage warrants a full re-election, with 44 percent in favor and 48 percent opposed; 8 percent said they did not know or declined to answer. By age group, 67 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 and 62 percent of those in their 30s supported holding a re-election. By party affiliation, 65 percent of Democratic Party supporters opposed a re-election while 62 percent of People Power Party supporters favored one.

The survey was conducted via telephone interviews using randomly selected virtual mobile numbers. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, and the response rate was 11.3 percent. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

addressh@heraldcorp.com