First Korea-Central Asia summit set for Wednesday

Gallup poll shows 38% approval, 51% disapproval

President Lee Jae Myung enters a senior staff meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Friday. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung enters a senior staff meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Friday. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung will host the first multilateral summit with leaders of five Central Asian nations next week, aiming to strengthen cooperation in critical minerals, energy supply chains, AI and digital industries, and other future industries.

Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday that Lee will chair the first Korea-Central Asia Summit in Seoul on Wednesday.

The leaders of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan will attend.

Lee will preside over the meeting under the theme of "Korea-Central Asia cooperation directions and a partnership for strengthening innovation, prosperity and connectivity." A "Seoul Declaration" laying out a medium- to long-term vision for cooperation is also expected to be adopted.

Speaking at a senior staff meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Friday, Lee described Central Asia as "a geopolitical hub of the Eurasian continent and a region with strong growth potential, richly endowed with energy and critical minerals," adding that it is also "a region that shares a special historical and cultural bond with us." He said the summit would "consolidate the Korea-Central Asia relationship into a summit-level multilateral cooperation framework" and give "greater momentum to the New Northern Policy we have pursued," and would help secure "a new economic and cultural Silk Road connecting to Europe and the Middle East."

The summit announcement comes as Lee's approval rating fell below 40 percent for the first time since he took office.

A Gallup Korea poll released the same day showed Lee's job approval at 38 percent, down 2 percentage points from the previous survey. With his approval rating continuing to slide, Lee is expected to hold a press conference soon to address key issues directly and seek a turnaround in public sentiment.

The Gallup Korea survey, conducted Tuesday through Thursday among 1,000 adults aged 18 and older nationwide, recorded Lee's job approval at 38 percent — the lowest since he took office — down 2 percentage points from the previous survey (the first week of September). His disapproval rating held steady at 51 percent, matching the previous poll. Those with no opinion accounted for 11 percent.

Among those who disapproved, the top reasons cited were real estate policy (24 percent), personnel appointments (16 percent), the economy and livelihoods (10 percent), ethical concerns and his avoidance of his own trial (6 percent), and general poor performance (4 percent).

Possible dates for a public address by Lee — taking into account upcoming schedules including overseas trips — include Sept. 17, Sept. 18 and Sept. 20.

Should such a public address take place, questions are expected over the backgrounds and future of controversial ministerial nominees Kim Seung-won for the Ministry of Justice and Yong Hye-in for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Attention will also focus on whether Lee will personally declare his opposition to seeking a second term and whether he will signal a willingness to change policy on real estate and taxation.

The Gallup Korea poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, a contact rate of 46.7 percent and a response rate of 9.4 percent. For further details, visit the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.


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