President Lee's Approval Rating Falls for 4th Consecutive Week to 51.5%; PPP Overtakes DP [Realmeter]

A public opinion poll released today (June 15) shows that President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating has declined for four consecutive weeks, falling by 9 percentage points (p) over the past month.

According to a survey conducted by Realmeter at the request of the Energy Economy News from June 8 to 12, covering 2,515 voters aged 18 and older nationwide, the positive assessment of President Lee's performance stood at 51.5%, down 3.7%p from the previous week.

The positive assessment rating has fallen for four straight weeks, dropping from 60.5% in the second week of May to 59.3% in the third week, 59.1% in the fourth week, and 55.2% in the first week of June, eventually settling in the low 50% range.

Negative assessment rose by 3.2%p from the previous week to 44.2%.

The percentage of respondents who answered "not sure" was 4.3%.

Realmeter analyzed the cause of the decline, stating, "As the controversy over the shortage of ballots and counting errors in the June 3 local elections spread into political turmoil—including declarations of the state of affairs by university students and criticism regarding the National Election Commission's poor management—economic burdens such as high exchange rates and high inflation have further weighed on public livelihood."

In a survey on political party support conducted from June 11 to 12 among 1,002 adults aged 18 and older nationwide, a reversal in support between the major parties was observed.

The Democratic Party of Korea (DP) saw its support fall for the third consecutive week to 38.0%, marking the first time in 10 months since the second week of August last year (39.9%) that it has dropped into the 30% range.

Conversely, the People Power Party (PPP) rose for the third consecutive week to reach 44.3%, the highest level since the current administration took office, leading the DP by 6.3%p and showing a lead outside the margin of error.

Realmeter explained, "The People Power Party appears to have absorbed support from progressive and moderate voters as well as those in their 20s by leading a hardline response to the poor election management, including calls for a parliamentary investigation and the proposal of a special counsel bill."

Regarding the Democratic Party, the agency assessed, "Amidst the debate over responsibility for the June 3 local election results and the poor election management, internal factional conflicts—such as the leadership controversy surrounding Representative Jung Chung-rae and calls for his resignation—have intensified, leading to a notable departure of key supporters in Gyeonggi, Incheon, the Honam region, and among progressive voters."

Support for the Rebuilding Korea Party was 3.7%, the Reform Party 2.8%, and the Progressive Party 1.2%.

Both surveys were conducted using a wireless automated response system.

The survey on the president's job performance had a margin of error of ±2.0%p at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 4.3%.

The survey on political party support had a margin of error of ±3.1%p at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 3.8%.

(For further details, please refer to the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.)

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.