President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a ministry briefing at Cheong Wa Dae's state guesthouse on Wednesday, covering the Ministry of Education, National Education Commission, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Cultural Heritage Administration. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a ministry briefing at Cheong Wa Dae's state guesthouse on Wednesday, covering the Ministry of Education, National Education Commission, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Cultural Heritage Administration. [Yonhap]

A new poll shows that positive assessments of President Lee Jae Myung's job performance have declined for three consecutive weeks, with stock market instability and a real estate tax overhaul weighing on public opinion.

The Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) surveyed 1,002 people aged 18 and older nationwide on Monday and Tuesday, finding that 47.8 percent rated Lee's performance positively — down 1.0 percentage point from the previous survey, the pollster said Wednesday.

The figure has now fallen in three straight surveys, slipping from 54.7 percent in the second week of July to 48.8 percent in the fourth week of July and to 47.8 percent in the latest reading. The negative rating, meanwhile, edged up 0.1 percentage point to 46.8 percent.

KSOI said diplomatic achievements from Lee's overseas trips had bolstered his approval, but that domestic issues had offset those gains. "Stock market instability, the controversy over single-stock leveraged ETF products, and the debate surrounding real estate tax reform appear to have canceled out the diplomatic gains," the institute said.

In party support, the Democratic Party of Korea stood at 41.1 percent, down 1.8 percentage points from the previous survey, while the People Power Party held steady at 30.6 percent. The gap between the two parties narrowed to 10.5 percentage points from 12.3 percentage points in the prior poll. The Rebuilding Korea Party followed at 3.0 percent, the Reform Party at 2.5 percent and the Progressive Party at 1.87 percent, while 14.56 percent said they supported no party.

In the race for the next Democratic Party leader, candidates Kim Min-seok and Jung Chung-rae were locked in a statistical tie. Kim led with 28.1 percent against Jung's 27.6 percent, a gap of 0.5 percentage point. Candidate Song Yeong-gil polled at 4.8 percent, while 28.8 percent said none of the candidates and 10.7 percent said they did not know.

KSOI noted that Kim holds an advantage among Democratic Party supporters and in the Honam region, while Jung leads in the Greater Seoul area. "This shows the race is unfolding as a contest between different support bases rather than a one-sided surge by either candidate," the institute said. "The outcome will likely hinge on how much each candidate can widen the gap in their strongholds while narrowing the deficit in their rival's."

Asked about the main cause of the recent domestic stock market decline, respondents ranked "government policy, including single-stock leveraged products" first at 39.8 percent, followed by "market correction due to profit-taking after a sharp short-term rally" at 20.8 percent, "external economic conditions such as the rapid growth of Chinese chipmakers" at 14.1 percent, and "concerns over a domestic economic slowdown and corporate earnings" at 6.8 percent.

The survey was conducted using an automated response system with a structured questionnaire. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. The response rate was 5.7 percent. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.


mp1256@heraldcorp.com