President Lee's Approval Rating at 40%... Public Split on Impeachment of Chief Justice Cho

[Anchor]

A public opinion poll showed that President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating has climbed back to the 40% range for the first time in seven weeks. Regarding the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, opinions were closely divided, with 34% in favor and 39% opposed.

Reporter Park Ye-rin reports.

[Reporter]

According to a survey conducted by polling firm Gallup Korea of 1,001 adults nationwide for three days from October 20, 40% responded that President Lee Jae-myung was performing his state affairs well, while 50% responded that he was performing poorly.

Positive ratings rose by 1 percentage point compared to Gallup's poll last week, reaching the 40% range for the first time in seven weeks since the first week of September.

Diplomacy was the most frequently cited reason for positive evaluations at 21%, followed by the economy and people's livelihoods at 14%, and communication at 7%.

As for negative assessments, real estate policy accounted for 18%, the economy and livelihoods for 16%, and defense, national security, and North Korea policy for 10%. Gallup analyzed that looking at the reasons for both positive and negative evaluations, mentions related to the economy increased on both sides compared to last week.

When asked, "Do you support or oppose the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, which is being discussed in some political circles?", 34% supported it and 39% opposed it, putting the difference within the margin of error, while 28% reserved judgment, answering "don't know" or refusing to answer.

By political party support, 61% of Democratic Party supporters favored impeachment, while 71% of People Power Party supporters were opposed.

Among progressives, 66% supported impeachment, while 61% of conservatives opposed it, and moderates were evenly split at 34% each for both support and opposition.

In a February 2023 Gallup survey regarding former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, whose impeachment motion was approved over the handling of the Itaewon disaster, 82% of Democratic Party supporters, 72% of progressives, and 51% of moderates supported impeachment at the time. Compared to that survey, Gallup analyzed that public consensus both inside and outside the political base regarding the impeachment of Chief Justice Cho is narrower than it was then.

Video by Jung Sang-bo and Yoon Hyeong | Video Editing by Nam Il | Graphics by Jaegal Chan and Lee Jun-ho
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.