Latest Lee’s Approval Rating Edges Up to 39% After Record Low

Minute Brief

16 Oct 2026

President Lee Jae Myung’s approval rating rose by 2 percentage points to 39 percent in a new Gallup Korea survey, but negative assessments also increased and remained above half of respondents.

16 Oct 2026

South Korea's Defense Ministry is considering extending the Cheonghae anti-piracy unit's operating area from the Gulf of Aden to the Gulf of Oman, while also reviewing stronger aerial surveillance capabilities.

16 Oct 2026

Pyongyang’s missile chief challenged Seoul’s account of its first domestically developed hypersonic glide vehicle test, while South Korea’s defense ministry rejected his argument and said development will continue.

Politics

5 stories

Lee’s Approval Rating Edges Up to 39% After Record Low

South Korea Weighs Expanding Cheonghae Naval Mission Toward Strait of Hormuz

North Korea Questions South Korea’s Hypersonic Glide Test

A generic, non-operational aerodynamic scale model and ceramic sample illustrate disputed claims about a hypersonic glide test; they are not the actual vehicle or test evidence. AI-generated illustrative image; not a photograph of the event.

South Korea Reaffirms Agreed Conditions for Wartime Command Transfer

An empty, generic defense-planning room illustrates the allies' conditions-based wartime command transfer process; it is not an actual meeting or military record. AI-generated illustrative image; not a photograph of the event.

South Korea Asserts Right to Peaceful Use of the DMZ