President Moon's Approval Rating at 49%... Positive Ratings Lead Negative for 2 Consecutive Weeks [Realmeter]

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] President Moon Jae-in's approval rating for his administration remained in the high 40% range, with positive evaluations surpassing negative ones for two consecutive weeks.

According to Realmeter's survey commissioned by YTN, conducted from the 30th of last month to the 3rd of this month (excluding the 1st), the positive evaluation of President Moon's administration dropped by 0.7 percentage points from the previous week's aggregate to 49.0%, announced on the 6th. Negative evaluations decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 46.2%. This marks the first time in about five months, since the second week of August last year, that positive evaluations have led negative ones for two consecutive weeks.

This change appears to be due to overlapping various positive and negative factors, including ▲ the passage of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office establishment law in the National Assembly and the appointment of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, expanding reports related to prosecutorial reform ▲ New Year's special pardons and related controversies involving Lee Kwang-jae, Kwak No-hyun, and Han Sang-gyun ▲ Reports of export declines for 13 consecutive months ▲ Increased reports on the instability of the Korean Peninsula situation, including North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un's New Year's message of 'direct breakthrough.'

By ideological inclination, negative evaluations slightly increased among conservatives (negative evaluation 76.0%→76.6%, positive evaluation 20.8%), while positive evaluations slightly decreased among progressives (positive evaluation 79.0%→76.6%, negative evaluation 19.1%), showing a stark contrast in perceptions of President Moon's administration between conservative and progressive camps.

The moderate group (positive evaluation 47.9%→46.9%, negative evaluation 49.3%→50.3%) showed some defection but maintained positive evaluations in the mid-to-high 40% range.

Among other detailed groups, declines were seen in progressives and moderates, people in their 50s, 30s, and 20s, as well as in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (PK), Seoul, and Gyeonggi-Incheon, while increases were observed among those aged 60 and above and in Daegu-Gyeongbuk (TK).

Regarding party support, the Democratic Party of Korea rose by 0.4 percentage points to 41.8%, maintaining its rise for two consecutive weeks and staying in the low 40% range. The Liberty Korea Party also increased by 0.7 percentage points to 32.1%, marking a three-week consecutive rise and maintaining the low 30% range.

Meanwhile, the Justice Party remained in the 5% range, dropping 0.2 percentage points to 5.5%, and the Bareunmirae Party rose 0.2 percentage points to 4.6%, remaining in the 4% range. The Party for Democracy and Peace recorded 1.1%, and the Our Republican Party was at 1.0%.

This survey contacted 52,237 voters aged 19 and older nationwide, with a final response of 2,508 people, resulting in a response rate of 4.8%. The sampling error is ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more details, refer to the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.