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Lee's approval rating falls for 2nd straight week to 51.2 pct: Poll

Published: 27 Oct. 2025, 11:25

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a senior presidential secretary meeting at the presidential office in central Seoul on Oct. 23. [NEWS1]

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell for a second consecutive week, a survey showed Monday, amid controversy over the government's recent measures aimed at stabilizing the housing market.

According to the survey by Realmeter commissioned by a local news outlet, 51.2 percent gave a positive assessment of Lee's job performance, down 1 percentage point from the previous week, while the negative assessment remained unchanged at 44.9 percent.

Realmeter attributed the decline to a controversy over a "high-ranking official's alleged gap investment" and public skepticism about the government's Oct. 15 housing measures, which include tighter loan regulations.

First Vice Land Minister Lee Sang-kyeong recently came under fire for remarks suggesting potential homebuyers wait until the market stabilizes, while it was revealed that he had purchased a home through the so-called gap-investment scheme under Korea's unique jeonse system, in which tenants make a large lump-sum deposit to landlords instead of paying monthly rent. Lee stepped down last week.

The pollster, however, noted that the president's approval rating showed only a slight decline as the positive assessment of his recent economic and diplomatic activities, including efforts to coordinate a Korea-U.S.-China summit, helped cushion the decline.

The survey was conducted on 2,519 adults from Monday to Friday last week and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, with a confidence rate of 95 percent.

In a separate survey conducted by the same pollster on 1,001 individuals aged 18 and over Thursday and Friday, the approval rating for the ruling Democratic Party fell 2.4 percentage points to 44.1 percent.

Support for the main opposition People Power Party rose 0.6 percentage point to 37.3 percent.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, with a confidence rate of 95 percent.

Yonhap