President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating stood at 44%, according to a poll released on the 15th.
The National Barometer Survey (NBS), conducted jointly by Embrain Public, KSTAT Research, Korea Research and Hankook Research, surveyed 1,000 men and women aged 18 or older nationwide over three days from the 12th to the 14th. Lee's approval rating came in at 44%, up 1 percentage point from the previous survey two weeks earlier. Negative assessments, or those saying he is "doing a poor job," fell 1 percentage point from the previous survey to 49%.
By age group, negative assessments outweighed positive ones in every bracket except those in their 40s and 50s. Among moderates, 48% gave a positive assessment and 45% a negative one.
Asked whether they trust Lee's handling of state affairs, 47% said they do and 48% said they do not. Among self-identified progressives, 74% said they trust him, while among conservatives 76% said they do not.
On party support, the Democratic Party of Korea fell 2 percentage points from the previous survey to 33%. The People Power Party rose 3 percentage points to 28%. The gap between the two narrowed to 5 percentage points from 10 points two weeks earlier, the narrowest in the past six months. The Rebuilding Korea Party followed at 4%, the Reform Party at 2% and the Progressive Party at 1%. Some 29% withheld a response.
On the recent landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), opinion favored a firm response toward North Korea. Those saying South Korea "should respond firmly to North Korea" accounted for 65%, more than double the 32% who said it "should lower military tensions between the two Koreas." Support for a firm response was high among conservatives and moderates at 86% and 64%, respectively, while among progressives 57% favored easing military tensions. The call for a firm response was especially strong among those aged 18 to 29 and those in their 30s, at 78% and 80%, respectively.
Looking ahead, 59% expected jeonse (a Korean lease system requiring a large lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent) and monthly rent prices in their area to rise over the next year. Some 28% said prices would remain unchanged and 8% said they would fall.
On how to use this year's roughly 63 trillion won ($44 billion) in excess tax revenue, 52% said it should go toward paying down national debt to ease the fiscal burden on the state. Another 46% said a separate fund should be created to invest in future industries and prepare for crises. Opinion split along party lines: 63% of Democratic Party supporters backed investment in future industries and crisis preparedness, while 71% of People Power Party supporters favored debt repayment.
The NBS was conducted through telephone interviews using mobile virtual numbers (100%), with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. The response rate was 16.8%. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.