Panel survey data showed a steady influx of new support for Lee from conservatives and centrists
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a roundtable on Korea’s shipbuilding industry held in Ulsan on May 13, 2026. (Yonhap)
A new poll puts South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s job approval rating at 66.9%, with his approval in the country’s traditionally conservative southeastern region — believed to be a battleground in the upcoming June 3 local elections — also inching above 60%. According to the fourth wave of a voter panel survey commissioned by the Hankyoreh and the Korean Association of Party Studies, 66.9% respondents said that Lee was doing a good job as president, while 28.7% said he was doing poorly. Compared to the third wave of the survey, which was conducted Dec. 17-21,2025, Lee’s job approval rating rose by 4.7 percentage points, while negative ratings fell by 4.5 percentage points. While Lee’s approval rating surpassed 50% in all regions, it reached 60.9% in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, and 61.4% in Busan, Ulsan and North Gyeongsang Province. His approval was highest in Seoul, at 69.4%, while only slightly lower in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon (67.2%). By age group, approval for Lee was highest amongst voters in their 40s (79.3%) and 50s (76.0%), followed by those in their 30s (67.3%). While he polled relatively lower amongst those in the 18-29 age group (54.5%) and those in their 70s (57.3%), he still stayed above 50%. Lee’s approval among self-identified progressives was 95.2%, while 70.2% centrists approved of his term in office so far. His approval rating among conservatives was 29.0%. Among respondents who approved of Lee’s performance, 27.7% were new supporters who had not approved of him during the first wave of the panel survey, conducted May 8-11, 2025 — prior to Lee’s election on June 3 last year. This represents an increase of 5.8 percentage points compared to the previous wave of the survey. This demographic stood at 23.1% during the second wave of the survey (Sept. 3-7, 2025), and 21.9% in the third wave of the survey. Most new Lee supporters identified as centrists (66.8%), followed by conservatives (22.0%), and progressives (11.2%). Such numbers demonstrate that a steady influx of new supporters, primarily from centrist and conservative camps, has driven Lee’s approval numbers up. “There is an increase in centrists and conservatives who did not support Lee during his presidential campaign, but approve of his performance in office,” polling firm STI analyzed. Regarding the president’s use of social media as a communication tool, 57.5% of respondents stated that Lee was doing a good job of utilizing platforms such as X, formerly Twitter, while 32.3% disapproved. The leaders of both of Korea’s two major political parties faced far higher disapproval than approval ratings. Democratic Party leader Rep. Jung Chung-rae’s approval rating stood at 37.2%, while his disapproval came to 49.6%.Disapproval of People Power Party leader Rep. Jang Dong-hyuk came to a whopping 72.0%, four times his approval rating (16.4%). During the third wave of the voter panel survey, which was held five months ago, Jang’s approval rating was 25.7% while his disapproval rating stood at 62.7%, indicating that his approval rating has fallen by 9.3 percentage points while his disapproval rating has risen by 9.3 percentage points.<박스2>Survey methodology and summaryWave 4 of the 2025-26 voter panel surveyCommissioned by: The Hankyoreh and the Korean Association of Party StudiesSurvey organization: STIDate: May 6-10, 2026Sample: 1,701 voters from around South KoreaMethodology: Hybrid method involving a web-based survey accessible through mobile phones (99.6%) and telephone interviews (Mobile: 0.3%, landlines: 0.1%)Respondent sampling method: Panel established by the survey organization (2020 of the 4,864 respondents recruited using landline and mobile RDD and telecom subscriber panels who had participated in the third wave)Response rate: 88.3% (1,701 responded out of 1,926 contacted)Margin of error: ±2.4 percentage points at 95% confidence More details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.박스2By Shim Woo-sam, staff reporterPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
