Key facts
- President Lee Jae Myung's disapproval rating has surpassed his approval rating for the first time since he took office.
- A Gallup Korea survey found 44% approved of Lee's performance, down 7 percentage points from the previous poll.
- The negative assessment of Lee's performance rose 8 percentage points to 46%.
- Real estate policies were the most cited reason for disapproval.
- The ruling Democratic Party's approval rating fell to 41%, while the opposition People Power Party rose to 25%.
President Lee Jae Myung's disapproval rating has surpassed his approval rating for the first time since he took office, according to a survey by Gallup Korea. The poll, conducted from Tuesday through Thursday on 1,000 adults, showed 44% positively assessed Lee's management of state affairs, a decrease of 7 percentage points from the previous survey on July 24. Conversely, the negative assessment jumped 8 percentage points to 46%, marking the first time disapproval has exceeded approval in a Gallup poll since Lee began his term in June 2025. Other recent polls from Realmeter and the National Barometer Survey also indicated Lee's approval rating had fallen to its lowest point since his inauguration.
Diplomacy was cited as the most frequent reason for positive evaluations at 19%, followed by the economy and people's livelihoods at 15%. Among those who disapproved, 30% pointed to real estate policies, with concerns over the economy and livelihoods at 13%. Other reasons for disapproval included the government's "authoritarian" leadership style and recent moves to scale back prosecutorial powers.
The decline in approval comes amid growing concerns over the government's recent property tax revisions, which are expected to increase the tax burden on owners of high-end homes and non-resident property owners. On Thursday, the government announced a housing plan to supply over 230,000 additional homes in the Seoul metropolitan area, though its effectiveness in easing the housing shortage has been questioned.
The survey also revealed a drop in the ruling Democratic Party's approval rating by 3 percentage points to 41%, while the main opposition People Power Party saw its rating rise by 2 percentage points to 25%. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.