President Lee's Approval Rating Falls Below 50%..."Accepting Results Humbly"

[Anchor]

A recent public opinion poll shows that President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating has fallen below 50 percent. This marks the first time since his inauguration that negative assessments have surpassed positive ones in this specific survey. The Blue House stated that it accepts the results with gravity and humility.

Reporter Kang Min-woo has the story.

[Reporter]

According to a survey conducted by Realmeter, commissioned by Energy Economy News, from June 15 to 19 among 2,517 adults aged 18 and older nationwide, President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating for the third week of June stood at 46.7 percent, down 4.8 percentage points from the previous week.

This is the first time President Lee's approval rating has dropped into the 40 percent range in a Realmeter survey.

The negative assessment of his state affairs stood at 49.7 percent, marking the first time it has surpassed the positive assessment, although the difference remains within the margin of error.

Realmeter analyzed that the spread of accountability regarding the mismanagement of election administration and internal conflicts over party leadership within the ruling party acted as negative factors. Additionally, concerns over the polarization of the asset market, despite the KOSPI surpassing 9,000, led to a loss of support among moderate voters and those in the capital region.

Regarding the recent shift in approval ratings, the Blue House stated, "We accept these results with gravity and humility," adding, "We will more carefully examine what the public is concerned about and what they desire."

President Lee Jae-myung, who posted on social media on the 10th while on a tour of Europe saying he was "sorry" and would "work harder" following a decline in approval ratings, wrote on social media last night (June 21) that "the purpose of politics is to take responsibility for the lives of the people," and urged, "Please overcome small differences and join forces." This has led to interpretations that he was targeting the intensifying leadership race within the ruling party and the confrontational political landscape between the ruling and opposition parties.

[President Lee Jae-myung (June 19): 'People are saying, "Life is so hard, what are you fighting about?" and "What does your fighting have to do with our lives or the public duties we entrusted to you?" It is understandable that our citizens are angry.']

Following the reshuffle of his Blue House staff, President Lee is expected to carry out a cabinet reshuffle as early as the end of this month, replacing some ministers. Attention is now focused on whether this will bring any changes to his approval ratings.

(Reported by Ha Ryung and Yoon Hyung | Video by Lee Seung-hee | Graphics by Choi Jae-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.