Key facts
- President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell to 35.2% for the week ending Oct. 12, 2026.
- Positive assessments of Lee's job performance decreased by 2.2 percentage points from the previous week.
- Negative assessments of Lee's job performance rose by 1.6 percentage points to 61.4%.
- Support for the ruling Democratic Party fell to 35.5% in a separate poll.
- Support for the main opposition People Power Party rose to 41.3% in a separate poll.
President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has fallen for the second consecutive week, reaching 35.2% in a poll released Tuesday. The decline comes amid ongoing controversies related to judicial independence, disputes over mine explosions near the border, and rising rental and housing prices in the Seoul metropolitan area.
The poll, conducted by Realmeter from Oct. 7-10 on 1,504 adults nationwide, showed a 2.2 percentage point decrease in positive assessments of Lee's job performance from the previous week. Negative assessments increased by 1.6 percentage points to 61.4%.
In a separate survey of 1,004 adults conducted Oct. 8-10, support for the ruling Democratic Party dropped by 7 percentage points to 35.5%. Conversely, the main opposition People Power Party saw its support rise by 2.9 percentage points to 41.3%.
The surveys were commissioned by the Asia Business Daily and had margins of error of 2.5 and 3.1 percentage points, respectively, at a 95% confidence level.