[PollPollNews] President Lee’s Approval Rating at 60.5%... Rises for Second Consecutive Week, Returns to 60% Range

Realmeter Regular Poll

Daegu-Gyeongbuk Up 9.6 Percentage Points to 53.7%

Democratic Party Down 2.9%p, People Power Party Up 2.6%p

President Lee Jae-myung's job approval rating has risen for the second consecutive week, returning to the 60% range. In the party support survey, support for the Democratic Party fell, while support for the People Power Party increased.

According to a poll released by Realmeter on the 18th (commissioned by Energy Economy News, conducted from May 11 to 15 among 2,506 adults aged 18 and over nationwide using an automated wireless telephone response system, with a margin of error of ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level), President Lee's positive job approval was up 0.8 percentage points from last week, reaching 60.5%. President Lee's approval rating had reached 59.5% in the fifth week of April and has shown a slight upward trend for two consecutive weeks.

This week's poll drew attention as support in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk region rose by 9.6 percentage points (from 44.1% to 53.7%).

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking on the phone with U.S. President Donald Trump at the Blue House on the 17th. May 17, 2026 [Provided by the Blue House. Resale and DB prohibited] Yonhap News Agency

Realmeter explained, "President Lee's approval rating appears to have increased due to his focus on livelihood issues, such as the KOSPI surpassing the 8,000-point mark for the first time and his visit to the new airport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk (TK) region." However, they also noted that "the rise was somewhat limited, resulting in only a slight increase compared to the previous week, due to the controversy over the national dividend remarks by Blue House policy chief Kim Yongbeom, the opposition's accusations of election interference regarding the president's livelihood activities, and concerns about a strike following the breakdown of labor negotiations at Samsung Electronics, all of which overlapped."

In a party support poll (commissioned by Energy Economy News, conducted from May 14 to 15 among 1,003 adults aged 18 and over nationwide using an automated wireless telephone response system, with a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level), support for the Democratic Party fell by 2.9 percentage points from last week to 45.8%. The People Power Party rose by 2.6 percentage points to reach 33.5%. Realmeter analyzed, "The Democratic Party's decline appears to be due to the national dividend remarks escalating into an ideological controversy, leading to defections among conservative and moderate voters. In addition, the nomination disputes and signs of internal division in the Gwangju and Jeolla regions during the local elections were highlighted, further widening the scale of defections and contributing to the decline." Regarding the People Power Party, they said, "Support increased as they resolved nomination disputes during the local primary process, reorganized their election system with the launch of the central election committee, and further consolidated their conservative base."

The Korea Innovation Party received 3.8%, the Reform Party 3.2%, and the Progressive Party 1.8%, respectively.

For more detailed information about the poll, please refer to the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

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