[Anchor]

According to a public opinion survey released by pollster Realmeter today (the 14th), President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating stood at 33.8%. This marks a decline for the ninth consecutive week and the lowest level since taking office. Defections were particularly notable among young people and progressives.

Reporter Son Hyeong-an has the details.

[Reporter]

The results are from a survey of 2,515 adults aged 18 and older nationwide, conducted by Realmeter from the 7th to the 11th.

In the evaluation of President Lee's state affairs performance, 33.8% gave a positive rating, while 63.3% gave a negative rating.

President Lee's approval rating fell 3.6 percentage points from the previous week, marking nine consecutive weeks of decline and reaching its lowest point since his inauguration.

By age group, the approval rating among those in their 20s and younger experienced the sharpest drop, falling 10.2 percentage points from the previous week to 18.6%.

By ideological leaning, the approval rating among progressives dropped 8 percentage points from the previous week to record 49.3%.

Realmeter analyzed that "negative public sentiment spread over controversies surrounding cabinet reshuffle personnel selections, the review of troop deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, and uncertainties in real estate policies, which compounded with a substantial defection of progressive voters and youth in their 20s, leading to the drop in approval ratings."

An official from the presidential office stated, "We are looking back at the government's policies and will strive to regain trust."

Regarding political party support, the Democratic Party stood at 36.1%, down 5.7 percentage points from the previous week, while the People Power Party stood at 42.1%, up 4.5 percentage points.

This is the first time in Realmeter polls that the Democratic Party's approval rating has fallen below that of the People Power Party since the fourth week of June.

Among progressives, the Democratic Party recorded 63.5%, down 10 percentage points from the previous week, and tumbled 18.8 percentage points to 15% among those in their 20s.

The People Power Party surged 21.2 percentage points from the previous week among those in their 20s to record 61.5%.

(Video reporting: Ha Ryung, Yoon Hyeong | Video editing: Park Seon-soo | Design: Kim Han-gil, Park Tae-young)