President Lee's Approval Rating Bounces Back After Press Conference... 34.8%

Realmeter Poll
President Lee Jae-myung is speaking during a press conference on current issues held at the Blue House Guest House on the 18th. / News1
According to a poll by opinion research firm Realmeter on the 21st, President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating rebounded by 1.0 percentage point (p) for the first time in 10 weeks.
According to the results surveyed by Realmeter from the 14th to the 18th, commissioned by the Energy Economy News, the percentage of respondents who evaluated the President's administration positively was 34.8%, an increase of 1.0%p from 33.8% last week. The percentage of respondents who evaluated the President's administration negatively was 63.4%, an increase of 0.1%p from 63.3% last week. The "don't know" response was 1.8%.
Looking at the President's daily approval ratings, it was 32.6% on the 11th of last week, 32.9% on the 15th (the first day of this survey), 32.1% on the 16th, 35.3% on the 17th, and 37.2% on the 18th, when the President held a press conference.
/Graphic=Chosun Design Lab Kim Young-jae
By region, the President's approval rating rose by 3.9%p in Chungcheong, 3.2%p in Busan/Ulsan/Gyeongnam, and 2.2%p in Incheon/Gyeonggi. Conversely, it fell by 4.1%p in Honam.
By age group, it rose by 5.4%p in the 20s, 2.9%p in the 60s, and 2.8%p in the 30s. It fell by 2.3%p in the 40s and 1.9%p in the 50s.
Realmeter interpreted that "While the downward trend in approval ratings continued early in the week due to controversies over personnel vetting and the aftermath of hearings, the rating appears to have shifted to an upward trend as the President clarified his positions on major political issues such as term extension, dismissal of indictments, and troop deployment, and emphasized his commitment to administrative reform through the press conference for the public late in the week."
According to the political party support survey conducted by Realmeter on the 17th and 18th, the highest support was for the Democratic Party of Korea at 40.2%, an increase of 4.1%p from last week. Support for the People Power Party was 38.5%, a decrease of 3.6%p from last week. This was followed by the Rebuilding Korea Party at 5.2%, the Reform Party at 1.9%, and the Progressive Party at 0.9%. Respondents supporting other parties accounted for 2.4%, and the undecided group was 11.0%.
/Graphic=Chosun Design Lab Kim Young-jae
By region, the Democratic Party's support rose by 10.0%p in Busan/Ulsan/Gyeongnam and 6.9%p in Seoul, while the People Power Party's support fell by 9.8%p in Busan/Ulsan/Gyeongnam and 6.4%p in Chungcheong.
By age group, the Democratic Party's support rose by 12.9%p in the 20s and 8.2%p in those aged 70 and older, while the People Power Party's support fell by 9.1%p in the 20s and 9.1%p in the 30s.
Realmeter interpreted that "For the Democratic Party, the President's press conference highlighted his positions on current administrative issues and policy messages, which appears to have influenced the rise in approval ratings by consolidating support among the Seoul metropolitan area and the youth." It added, "For the People Power Party, despite continuing a hardline response including street protests and mentions of impeachment during the confrontation between ruling and opposition parties over personnel hearings, this response failed to consolidate the base, and the approval rating appears to have declined due to an exodus of support from the 20s and 30s, as well as from moderate and conservative groups."
For the presidential administration evaluation survey, the study was conducted over five days from the 14th to the 18th of last month among 2,507 people aged 18 and older nationwide via Automated Response (ARS) mobile phone. The response rate was 4.1%, and the margin of error was ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. The political party support survey was conducted over two days on the 17th and 18th among 1,003 people aged 18 and older nationwide via Automated Response (ARS) mobile phone. The response rate was 3.5%, and the margin of error was ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For further details, please refer to the National Election Survey Deliberation Committee website.