Gallup: "President Yoon down 1%p to 30%, Democratic Party up 5%p to 37%"

President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating for his administration slightly declined to 30%. Despite the controversy over cash envelopes at the party convention, the Democratic Party showed a significant increase in support. Both the drop in President Yoon's approval rating and the rise in the Democratic Party's support are interpreted as results of a major shift in the centrist voter sentiment.

According to Gallup's regular survey conducted from the 25th to the 27th (a telephone interviewer survey of 1,001 adults aged 18 and over nationwide), President Yoon's approval rating fell by 1 percentage point from the previous week to 30%. The negative evaluation of his administration rose by 3 percentage points to 63%.

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Gallup explained, "The approval rating of President Yoon's job performance by political inclination is 55% among conservatives, 20% among centrists, and 10% among progressives," adding, "Compared to last week, the approval rating among centrists dropped significantly, while the disapproval rate increased." In the previous survey, 29% of centrists gave a positive evaluation of President Yoon's job performance, but in this survey, only 20% expressed support.

Both positive and negative evaluations of President Yoon's job performance were largely influenced by assessments of 'diplomacy.' Diplomacy ranked first in both positive and negative evaluations, with the proportion citing diplomacy increasing on both sides this time.

When asked the reasons for their positive evaluation of the president's job performance (297 respondents, open-ended), 'diplomacy' (21%) and 'defense/security' (8%) were the most cited reasons. Compared to the previous survey, the proportion selecting diplomacy as a reason for positive evaluation increased by 9 percentage points. Among those who negatively evaluated the job performance (627 respondents, open-ended), 'diplomacy' (38%), 'economy/livelihood/prices' (9%), and 'Japan relations/forced labor compensation issue' (8%) were cited. Compared to the previous survey, the proportion citing diplomacy as a reason for negative evaluation increased by 6 percentage points.

Gallup stated, "Diplomatic issues have ranked highest for two consecutive months as reasons for both positive and negative evaluations of the president's job performance," explaining, "Last month, it was the issue of forced labor compensation during Japanese colonial rule, and this month, controversies arose over the U.S. spying on its allies, President Yoon's foreign media interviews regarding Ukraine and Taiwan, and perceptions of Japan."

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Regarding party support, the Democratic Party's approval rating rose by 5 percentage points from last week to 37%. The People Power Party remained at 32%, the same as last week. The increase in the Democratic Party's support is analyzed to be mainly due to changes in centrist voter sentiment. Last week, 28% of centrists supported the Democratic Party, but in this week's survey, 42% expressed support. The non-affiliated group accounted for 27%, and the Justice Party 4%.

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

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