Key facts
- Realmeter attributed the rise to the South Korea-Germany summit, a current account surplus and housing supply plans near Seoul.
- Lee's approval rating has stayed below 40% in Realmeter surveys since it fell to 38.9% from 40.2% in the fourth week of August.
- Support for the ruling Democratic Party rose 2.3 percentage points to 38.3%, while the People Power Party fell 2.4 points to 40.2%.
- The presidential poll had a margin of error of 2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level; the party poll 3.1 points.
- Both polls were commissioned by the Asia Business Daily.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating came to 36.9% in a Realmeter poll of 2,515 adults nationwide conducted from October 26 to October 30, 2026, the pollster said on November 2. That was up 1.6 percentage points from the previous week, while his disapproval rating fell 2.2 percentage points to 60.1%.
Realmeter said the increase appeared to have been driven by diplomatic achievements from the recent South Korea-Germany summit and by positive economic indicators, including a current account surplus and government plans to expand housing supply in the greater Seoul area. Lee's approval rating has stayed below 40% in Realmeter surveys since slipping to 38.9% from 40.2% in the fourth week of August.
In a separate survey of 1,005 adults conducted on October 29 and October 30, support for the ruling Democratic Party rose 2.3 percentage points to 38.3%, while support for the main opposition People Power Party fell 2.4 percentage points to 40.2%. The presidential survey had a margin of error of 2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and the party survey 3.1 percentage points. Both polls were commissioned by the Asia Business Daily.