Yoon's Approval Rating Drops Back to 30% Range Amid 'Yangpyeong Expressway' Controversy [Realmeter]

Positive Rating, 42.0%→39.1%
Negative Rating, Up 2.9%p to 58.0%

President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating for his administration has fallen back to the 30% range, according to a recent public opinion poll. Analysts attribute this decline to the controversy over the route change of the 'Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway.'

On the 10th, Realmeter, commissioned by Media Tribune, conducted a survey from the 3rd to the 7th of this month targeting 2,530 men and women aged 18 and older nationwide. The results showed that positive evaluations of President Yoon's administration dropped by 2.9 percentage points (p) from the previous week to 39.1%.

President Yoon's approval rating had shown a rising trend for three consecutive weeks, from 38.7% in the third week of June to 42.0% in the fifth week of June, but this upward trend halted in the latest survey.

Conversely, negative evaluations, which had been declining during the same period, increased by 2.9%p from 55.1% in the previous survey to 58.0%, ending a three-week downward trend and turning upward.

Positive ratings rose in regions such as Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong (up 1.6%p), Gwangju and Jeolla (up 1.0%p), and among people in their 20s (up 1.1%p). Negative ratings mainly increased in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (up 9.8%p), among those in their 60s (up 5.2%p), conservatives (up 5.8%p), and progressives (up 2.2%p).

Chulho Bae, Senior Specialist at Realmeter, explained, "The results of this survey suggest that the controversy over the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway route change had a more direct and significant impact than the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) disclosure regarding Fukushima contaminated water or the political disputes between ruling and opposition parties."

He added, "The expressway route change issue has become more complex and intensified as the dispute between ruling and opposition parties expanded to include Yangpyeong County and Gyeonggi Province, the affected areas. With a National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee inquiry scheduled for the 17th, this week is expected to see the 'expressway route change' issue become a focal point of direct confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties, forming a front line of political standoff centered on the Land Committee."

The margin of error for this poll is ±1.9%p at a 95% confidence level. The survey was conducted via automated phone calls, with 97% mobile and 3% landline responses, and the response rate was 3.1%.

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