President Lee Jae Myung speaks at an event on the development of advanced industries in the Chungcheong region, held at Samsung Display’s Asan campus in South Chungcheong Province, on July 2, 2026. (pool photo)
A new survey puts President Lee Jae Myung’s job approval rating at 58%, only slightly up from the 57% he recorded three weeks ago. Approval for the ruling Democratic Party came to 42%, while the top opposition People Power Party came in at 20% approval. Results of a National Barometer Survey announced Thursday showed that 58% of respondents said that Lee is “doing a good job,” an increase of 1 percentage point compared to three weeks ago. Disapproval of Lee came to 37%, while 7% of respondents said that they didn’t know or declined to answer. When asked about the direction of the government, 56% of respondents said it is headed in the right direction, while 36% said it is headed in the wrong direction.When asked how they felt about major policy initiatives by the Lee administration, 61% reported feeling positive about policy measures aimed at public safety, including disaster preparedness and more.This was followed by balanced regional development policies aimed at boosting competitiveness outside Seoul (55%), pension policies such as the national and basic pension systems (53%), education policies focused on nurturing future talent and reducing disparities (50%), and labor policies covering industrial relations and labor market reforms (48%).Amid strong positive assessments from progressive and moderate respondents, labor policy was the only area among moderates to receive a sub-50% positive rating, at 48%.Support for the ruling Democratic Party came in at 42%, a marginal increase from the 41% recorded three weeks ago. The People Power Party, on the other hand, dropped to 20% support from 25% three weeks ago, widening the approval gap between the country’s two major parties from 16 points to 22. The Reform Party and the Rebuilding Korea Party polled at 2% approval each, followed by the minor progressive Jinbo Party at 1%. 30% of respondents either had no party they supported, did not know, or declined to answer. The National Barometer Survey is a regular survey conducted by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research International, and Hankook Research. Survey responses are collected over the phone. The survey had a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The survey was conducted from June 29 through July 1. For details, consult the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website (in Korean).By Cho Hee-yeon, staff reporterPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
