Gallup: "President Yoon's Approval Rating Back to 20% Range"... Itaewon Disaster Affects Both Positive and Negative Ratings

President Yoon's approval rating drops 1% to 29%
Six-month policy evaluation shows mostly negative reviews except for COVID-19 response

On the 4th, during the national mourning period following the Itaewon tragedy, citizens continue to visit the memorial space set up around Itaewon Station in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating for his national administration has fallen back to the 20% range. The Itaewon tragedy has been found to affect the approval rating both positively and negatively. Public opinion is divided between those who appreciate the efforts to manage the situation and those who hold the administration responsible.

According to Gallup's regular survey conducted from the 1st to the 3rd (a telephone interview survey of 1,001 adults aged 18 and over nationwide), 29% of respondents evaluated President Yoon's national administration as "doing well," while 63% evaluated it as "doing poorly." Compared to last week's survey, approval dropped by 1 percentage point, and disapproval increased by 1 percentage point.

By region, negative evaluations were dominant in all areas except Daegu and Gyeongbuk. In Daegu and Gyeongbuk, positive evaluations were 45%, and negative evaluations were 47%. By age group, the approval ratings for national administration were 16% for those in their 20s (ages 18-29), 15% for those in their 30s, 18% for their 40s, 29% for their 50s, 43% for their 60s, and 55% for those aged 70 and above. Negative evaluations outnumbered positive ones in all age groups except those in their 70s and above.

One notable point regarding the president's job performance is that the Itaewon tragedy influenced both positive and negative evaluations. Those who positively evaluated the president's performance cited the management of the Itaewon incident as a major reason. Conversely, those who evaluated negatively pointed to inadequate response to the Itaewon tragedy and related incidents. Gallup analyzed, "There is no significant superficial change in President Yoon's job evaluation and ruling party support this week. The Itaewon tragedy newly appeared as a reason for both positive and negative evaluations, and related mentions increased, showing the existence of conflicting views." In the past, during the Sewol ferry disaster in April 2014, former President Park Geun-hye's approval rating dropped from 59% to 48% within two weeks.

Regarding party support, the Democratic Party of Korea received 34%, the People Power Party 32%, and the Justice Party 5%. Both the Democratic Party and the People Power Party saw a 1 percentage point decrease compared to last week's survey.

Meanwhile, an evaluation of the government's policies six months after its launch showed that, except for COVID-19, negative evaluations dominated in areas such as the economy, real estate, welfare, education, North Korea policy, diplomacy, and public official appointments. Particularly, public opinion was unfavorable regarding education, public official appointments, and the economy. Specifically, 21% responded that the economy was being handled well, while 56% responded negatively. Real estate had 31% positive (42% negative), welfare 27% positive (51% negative), education 17% positive (42% negative), North Korea policy 33% positive (48% negative), diplomacy 25% positive (57% negative), public official appointments 19% positive (61% negative), and COVID-19 response 43% positive (32% negative).

For detailed survey methodology and results related to this public opinion poll, please refer to the website of the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission.

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