Lee’s Approval Rating Rebounds to 44% in National Poll

President Lee Jae Myung’s job approval rating edged higher this week after remaining at a record low in the two previous National Barometer Survey readings.

The latest survey put positive assessments of Lee’s performance at 44 percent, up one percentage point from two weeks earlier. Negative assessments moved in the opposite direction, declining one point to 49 percent. The result leaves negative views five percentage points above positive ones.

The biweekly poll surveyed 1,000 adults across South Korea from Monday through Wednesday. It carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. That margin means the modest change in the headline approval figure should be read as a small rebound rather than a decisive shift in public sentiment.

Lee’s approval rating had stood at 43 percent in two consecutive surveys, first in mid-September and again in the first week of October. Those readings represented the lowest level recorded for him in the survey series. The latest result therefore breaks the run at the bottom, although the movement amounts to only one percentage point.

The poll also showed changes in support for South Korea’s two largest political parties. Support for the ruling Democratic Party fell two percentage points to 33 percent. The main opposition People Power Party gained three points, reaching 28 percent. The gap between the parties consequently narrowed to five percentage points.

The party figures present a mixed political picture for the administration. Lee’s personal approval ticked up, but support for his governing party declined during the same polling period. Meanwhile, the opposition recorded a gain even as the president’s own rating improved slightly.

Taken together, the results indicate that voter assessments of the president and party preferences did not move in lockstep during the latest survey. The president recovered one point from his record-low level, while the ruling party lost ground and the main opposition party advanced.

Because all of the reported changes are relatively small and the poll has a 3.1-point margin of error, subsequent surveys will be needed to show whether the shifts develop into a sustained trend. For now, the latest reading places Lee at 44 percent approval and 49 percent disapproval, with the Democratic Party maintaining a narrow lead over the People Power Party in party support.