Gallup Korea survey shows lowest positive rating since Lee took office

Democratic Party support falls to 30s for first time in 10 months

New party leader Kim Min-seok vows 'people's livelihood first' push

Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok (right) and Supreme Council member Choi Min-hee speak during a Supreme Council meeting at Inspire Resort in Incheon's Yeongjong-gu on Friday. [Yonhap]
Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok (right) and Supreme Council member Choi Min-hee speak during a Supreme Council meeting at Inspire Resort in Incheon's Yeongjong-gu on Friday. [Yonhap]

A string of recent polls shows the approval ratings of President Lee Jae Myung and his ruling Democratic Party of Korea falling in tandem. With concerns mounting inside the party and the regular National Assembly session set to open in September, attention is turning to whether the new party leadership will shift strategy.

According to political circles Saturday, a Gallup Korea weekly survey conducted Tuesday through Thursday among 1,001 adults aged 18 and older nationwide found that 42 percent of respondents gave a positive assessment of President Lee's job performance — down 3 percentage points from the previous survey and the lowest figure Gallup Korea has recorded since he took office.

The share of respondents giving a negative assessment of Lee's presidency also exceeded 50 percent for the first time since his inauguration. Those who reserved judgment accounted for 8 percent.

Among those who rated Lee positively, "diplomacy" was cited most often at 16 percent, followed by "economy and people's livelihoods" at 11 percent, "communication" at 10 percent, and "doing well overall" and "real estate policy" at 7 percent each. On the negative side, "real estate policy" dominated at 27 percent, followed by "curtailing prosecutors' authority," "economy and people's livelihoods," and "ethical issues and avoiding his own trial," each at 7 percent.

By region, positive ratings fell below 50 percent everywhere except Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces, where the figure stood at 75 percent. In Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, approval dropped to 26 percent, while Seoul was limited to 37 percent.

The negative rating crossing the 50 percent mark comes roughly one year and two months after Lee's inauguration last June. The milestone arrived later than it did for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, but somewhat sooner than for former presidents Moon Jae-in and Park Geun-hye.

In party support, the Democratic Party stood at 39 percent and the People Power Party at 25 percent. The Democratic Party's figure fell into the 30s for the first time in about 10 months, since the third week of October last year, when it also registered 39 percent.

The survey was conducted via telephone interviews using randomly selected virtual mobile numbers. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. The contact rate was 44.5 percent and the response rate 9.5 percent. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

Against this backdrop, the Democratic Party's leadership under Kim Min-seok wrapped up a lawmakers' workshop Friday in preparation for the regular National Assembly session, putting "resolving people's livelihood issues" at the center of its response.

Speaking at a Supreme Council meeting held at the workshop venue, Kim said the gathering had been "a workshop to steel our resolve to break through internal and external challenges with a 'people's livelihood first' approach at a desperate turning point on the way to Korea's golden age." He added that the party would operate "with the resolve and determination that every Democratic Party lawmaker becomes a driving force in solving the tasks needed to open an era of democracy, popular sovereignty and Korea's golden age."

Kim said the party would enter "an all-out mobilization mode in which every lawmaker sprints at full speed while the party provides thorough support and rigorous oversight," adding that "all lawmakers will soon be given specific missions from the party."

On the Bank of Korea's decision to raise its benchmark interest rate, Kim said it was likely "a decision that comprehensively weighed multiple factors including prices, household debt and the exchange rate." He added that the party would "keep a close watch on market conditions and the livelihood situation without letting its guard down, monitor that the rate increase does not translate into an excessive repayment burden for financially vulnerable groups, and prepare countermeasures if necessary."


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