President Moon's Approval Rating at 45.3%... Negative Ratings Exceed 50% [Realmeter]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] A public opinion poll revealed that negative evaluations of President Moon Jae-in's performance in office have exceeded 50% for the first time in two months. Although he expressed his thoughts on various current issues, including the investigation of Justice Minister Cho Kuk, during the New Year's press conference on the 14th, analysts say it had the opposite effect.

According to Realmeter, which conducted the survey on behalf of YTN from the 13th to the 17th, positive evaluations of President Moon's performance dropped by 3.5 percentage points from the previous week's aggregate to 45.3%, announced on the 20th. Conversely, negative evaluations rose by 4.4 percentage points to 50.9%.

Realmeter analyzed that recent remarks by Chief Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs Kang Ki-jung about a 'real estate transaction permit system' and President Moon's statement during the New Year's press conference that he feels a 'debt of gratitude' toward former Minister Cho influenced the approval ratings.

Compared to the previous week, positive evaluations declined in all regions except Honam (Gwangju and Jeolla), Chungcheong (Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong), and Gangwon. The decline was observed regardless of ideological leanings, including conservative, moderate, and progressive groups.

Specifically, by region, Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam saw a drop from 40.3% to 31.2% positive evaluation with 63.6% negative; Seoul from 49.7% to 44.4% positive with 53.0% negative; Daegu and Gyeongbuk from 37.1% to 31.9% positive with 64.3% negative; and Gyeonggi and Incheon from 52.6% to 48.6% positive with 48.4% negative. By ideological group, conservatives dropped from 21.8% to 18.8% positive with 78.9% negative; moderates from 43.7% to 41.4% positive with 56.0% negative; and progressives from 76.7% to 75.5% positive with 21.7% negative.

By age group, the 30s showed the largest decline in positive evaluation, dropping 10.6 percentage points from 59% to 48.4%, with 49.1% negative. This was followed by the 20s (44.5% to 38.6% positive, 53.0% negative) and 40s (59.2% to 55.3% positive, 42.5% negative). Conversely, those aged 60 and above saw an increase from 39.9% to 41.1% positive with 55.1% negative.

Regarding party support, the Democratic Party of Korea fell 2.7 percentage points from the previous week to 38.4%. Meanwhile, the Liberty Korea Party rose 1.4 percentage points to 32.7%.

The Democratic Party showed little change among progressives (65.1% to 65.6%), maintaining a steady trend within its base. The Liberty Korea Party experienced some conservative defections (63.7% to 58.6%), which is presumed to be due to some conservatives moving to the New Conservative Party.

Additionally, the New Conservative Party recorded 4.7%, and the Justice Party closed at 4.3%. Following were the Bareunmirae Party at 3.9%, the Party for Democracy and Peace at 1.8%, the Our Republican Party at 1.5%, the Alternative New Party at 1.2%, and the Minjung Party at 1.1%.

This survey contacted 51,849 voters aged 19 and older nationwide, with a final response of 2,510, resulting in a 4.8% response rate. 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.