President Lee’s approval rating rises to 53.6% for second consecutive week

President Lee Jae-myung’s approval rating has continued its upward momentum for the second straight week, surpassing the mid-50% range, according to a poll released on September 1.

The survey, conducted by Realmeter on behalf of Energy Economy News from August 25 to 29 among 2,537 voters nationwide, found that 53.6% of respondents positively evaluated President Lee’s job performance, up 2.2 percentage points from the previous poll. Negative evaluations dropped by 2.6 points to 42.3%, while 4.1% said they were unsure.

Realmeter attributed the rise to “the positive reception of foreign policy and economic achievements, including the recent Korea-U.S. summit, which resonated beyond political divisions.” Notably, approval ratings climbed even in conservative strongholds such as Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province (44.2%, +9.1 points), as well as in Incheon/Gyeonggi (55.8%, +5.4), Daejeon/Sejong/Chungcheong (53.8%, +4.8), and Busan/Ulsan/South Gyeongsang (52.8%, +2.1). However, support declined in Gangwon (42.0%, -11.1) and Seoul (47.6%, -3.1).

By age group, Lee’s support was highest among those in their 40s (71.4%) and lowest among those in their 20s (40.0%). Across ideological lines, approval rose among conservatives (28.4%, +5.7), progressives (85.1%, +1.5), and moderates (54.1%, +1.4).

A separate party-support survey conducted August 28–29 with 1,006 respondents showed the Democratic Party leading with 46.7%, followed by the People Power Party at 36.1%. Both gained slightly compared to the previous poll, but the gap widened to 10.6 points. Realmeter noted that “the Democratic Party benefitted from highlighting the government’s diplomatic and economic achievements and driving reform legislation, while the People Power Party drew gains from its leadership contest and criticism of ‘legislative overreach.’”

Support for minor parties stood at 3.7% for the Reform Party, 2.5% for the Cho Kuk Innovation Party (-0.7), and 1.2% for the Progressive Party.

Both surveys were conducted via automated telephone response. The presidential approval poll has a margin of error of ±1.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, and the party-support survey ±3.1 points, with response rates of 5.1%. Full details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission’s website.