Lead

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has fallen to 53 percent, marking his lowest level in a National Barometer Survey since he took office, according to a poll released Thursday and reported by Yonhap News. The decline comes alongside a rise in disapproval and continued public dissatisfaction with the administration's real estate policies.

Coverage Comparison

Two separate Yonhap reports, published two weeks apart, track the president's approval rating over time. The most recent report, based on a survey conducted earlier this week, shows the positive assessment of Lee's performance at 53 percent, down 2 percentage points from the previous poll. The earlier report, from mid-July, had placed the rating at 55 percent, a 3 percentage point decline from the poll before it.

The reports also provide differing figures for support for the ruling Democratic Party (DP). The most recent survey indicates DP support gained 2 percentage points to 40 percent, while the mid-July report recorded a 4 percentage point drop to 38 percent. These figures reflect different polling periods and are not directly comparable.

Key Claims

  • President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating stands at 53 percent, down 2 percentage points from the previous survey conducted two weeks earlier, according to the July 30 report. The report notes this is his lowest rating in an NBS poll since the second week of June 2025.
  • Disapproval of Lee's performance rose 3 percentage points to 37 percent, as reported by Yonhap.
  • The July 30 survey found that 56 percent of respondents rated the administration's handling of real estate policies poorly, while 33 percent gave positive assessments.
  • The same survey showed support for the ruling Democratic Party at 40 percent (up 2 percentage points), while support for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) stood at 21 percent (down 1 percentage point). The report also notes that positive assessment of the DP was higher than for the PPP across all age brackets.
  • A separate survey reported mid-July indicated that 55 percent of respondents opposed the government's plan to establish an integrated military academy of the Army, Navy and Air Force, with 34 percent in support. That report noted the proposal had drawn criticism from some armed services and the PPP, who argue a combined institution would weaken overall military readiness.
  • Both surveys were conducted by pollsters Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research and Hankook Research on 1,000 people aged 18 and older. Each has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, as reported by Yonhap.

Perspectives

Government and Ruling Party

The presidential office has not issued a comment on the poll figures, but the reports indicate that support for the ruling Democratic Party remains above that of the opposition People Power Party across all age groups, according to the most recent survey.

Opposition and Critics

The integrated military academy plan has drawn criticism from some armed services and the People Power Party, which argue that a combined institution would weaken overall military readiness, as reported by Yonhap. No direct comments from these parties on the approval ratings were included in the provided material.