Moon averaged 75% approval in his second-year first quarter; Lee's trajectory after press conference draws attention

Former President Moon Jae-in takes questions from reporters at a New Year's press conference held at Chunchugwan, Cheong Wa Dae, on Jan. 18, 2021. [Yonhap]
Former President Moon Jae-in takes questions from reporters at a New Year's press conference held at Chunchugwan, Cheong Wa Dae, on Jan. 18, 2021. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung, elected last year, has now passed the first quarter of his second year in office and ranks fifth among all presidents who have served since South Korea's democratization in 1987, measured by approval ratings over the same period.

According to Gallup Korea, Lee's average job approval rating from July through this month stood at 46%.

In the same survey series, former President Moon Jae-in posted the highest average approval rating for the second-year first quarter among presidents who took office after the 1987 democratization, at 75%.

Former President Kim Dae-jung followed at 60%, with former Presidents Kim Young-sam and Park Geun-hye each at 55% — all ahead of Lee. Behind Lee's 46% came former President Roh Tae-woo at 45%, former President Lee Myung-bak at 34%, former President Yoon Suk Yeol at 33% and former President Roh Moo-hyun at 25%.

Gallup Korea's third-week September regular poll was conducted via telephone interviews using randomly selected virtual mobile numbers. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The contact rate was 45.4% and the response rate was 9.9%. For further details, visit the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.

President Lee held his seventh press conference since taking office Friday at the Cheong Wa Dae guesthouse, with observers watching closely to see whether the event can reverse a recent slide in his approval ratings.

Political circles note that past presidents have also turned to emergency press conferences as a way to break through crises — whether triggered by sudden shifts in security or economic conditions, or by falling approval ratings.

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol held a national address and press conference in November 2024 after his approval rating collapsed into the teens amid mounting controversy over the so-called "Myung Tae-kyun gate" scandal and allegations of first lady Kim Keon Hee's interference in state affairs. Yoon bowed his head and apologized, saying, "All of this is my own negligence and a reflection of my lack of virtue." He then rebutted reporters' questions one by one during the ensuing Q&A session, drawing widespread criticism that the event was a hollow performance, and his approval rating failed to recover.

Former President Moon Jae-in, by contrast, used his January 2021 New Year's press conference to acknowledge policy failures on real estate — then the most pressing public issue — and to lay out a direction toward expanding supply. His approval rating rebounded in subsequent polls, and the press conference is widely credited with driving that turnaround. Moon's average job approval rating in the final quarter of his five-year term — January through March 2022 — was 42%, the highest of any directly elected president since the restoration of the direct election system.

Former President Lee Myung-bak saw his approval rating plunge from 52% to 21% in his first year in office following the US beef import controversy, but a special press conference on June 19, 2008, is credited with sparking a recovery. Lee bowed his head at the time, saying, "Watching the countless candles flickering in the dark streets, I deeply blamed myself for what I had done wrong." He went on to reshuffle key Cheong Wa Dae aides and met personally with then-Grand National Party lawmaker Park Geun-hye to minimize intraparty conflict — efforts that helped him sustain approval ratings in the 40 percent range into his third year in office in 2010.

Former President Kim Dae-jung held a televised national dialogue on May 10, 1998, during the Asian financial crisis, explaining the severity of the situation and appealing for public cooperation on restructuring and shared sacrifice. While his job approval rating was already high at the time, it did not climb further afterward.

Former President Roh Moo-hyun held a public briefing and press conference immediately after the conclusion of the Korea-US free trade agreement in April 2007. A Realmeter poll at the time showed his job approval rating rising 10 percentage points from the previous week to 32.5%.


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