Home > National > Politics

Lee's approval rating inches down to 54.5%: Poll

Published: 17 Nov. 2025, 09:26

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with business leaders on Nov. 16 to discuss follow-up measures after the release of a joint fact sheet on bilateral trade and security agreements with the United States. [YONHAP]

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating edged down after rising for two consecutive weeks, a survey showed Monday, amid controversy surrounding the prosecution's decision not to appeal a high-profile development corruption case linked to him.

According to the survey by Realmeter commissioned by a local news outlet, 54.5 percent gave a positive assessment of Lee's job performance, down 2.2 percentage points from the previous week.

Negative assessment of Lee rose 2.5 percentage points to 41.2 percent.

Realmeter attributed the decline to mounting public fatigue over the intensifying political bickering between the rival parties surrounding the prosecution's decision not to appeal the case.

The development corruption case centers on allegations that a small number of unqualified asset management companies, including Hwacheon Daeyu, were allowed to reap astronomical investment profits from a real estate development project in Seongnam's Daejang-dong district in 2015, when Lee was the city's mayor.

People Power Party lawmakers and critics suspect the prosecution's decision not to appeal by the Nov. 7 deadline was influenced by government interference.

The survey was conducted on 2,510 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 1,006 individuals aged 18 and over Thursday and Friday, the approval rating for the ruling Democratic Party rose 0.2 percentage point to 46.7 percent.

Support for the main opposition People Power Party shed 0.6 percentage point to 34.2 percent.

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

Yonhap