South Korean President Lee’s approval rating rises after dipping to lowest level: poll

Seoul, Oct 16 (IANS) South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s approval rating rose slightly to 39 per cent after weeks of decline, a weekly poll showed Friday.

The survey, conducted by Gallup Korea from Tuesday through Thursday on 1,003 people aged 18 and older, showed that positive assessments of Lee’s performance increased 2 percentage points from the previous week.

The figure marks a slight recovery from his record low of 37 per cent recorded in the previous two Gallup polls, following a downward trend since late August, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Those who disapproved of Lee’s handling of state affairs rose by 1 percentage point on-week to 52 per cent.

Among those who positively assessed Lee’s performance, 20 per cent cited diplomacy, followed by economic and livelihood issues at 11 per cent.

Real estate policies, along with economic and livelihood concerns, were among the main reasons cited by those who disapproved of Lee’s performance.

Support for the ruling Democratic Party rose 1 percentage point to 36 per cent after marking the lowest figure since the launch of Lee’s administration last week.

Support for the main opposition People Power Party also rose 1 percentage point to 27 per cent.

For the 2028 general elections, 47 per cent said more opposition candidates should be elected to keep the government in check, while 34 per cent favoured DP candidates to support the government.

More respondents supported the opposition’s victory across all age groups except those in their 40s and 50s, whose support for the DP’s victory stood at 50 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively.

The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 per cent confidence level.

Meanwhile, President Lee Jae Myung on Friday called on the National Assembly to push for a constitutional revision, saying the spirit of the country’s democratisation movements should be reflected in the Constitution.

Lee made the call in a speech at a ceremony marking the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Busan-Masan pro-democracy protests against then President Park Chung-hee’s dictatorship, also known as the Buma uprising.

“Reflecting the Buma democratisation uprising and the Gwangju democratisation movement in the preamble to the Constitution is the smallest measure we need to not forget the blood-stained history of defending South Korea’s democracy and people’s sovereignty,” the president said.

“On this occasion, I once again request that the National Assembly begin gathering public opinions and holding reasonable discussions on constitutional reform,” he said.

–IANS

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