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Lee's approval rating falls for 3rd straight week to 52%

Published: 29 Sep. 2025, 13:05

President Lee Jae Myung checks reports during an emergency meeting to discuss the response to a fire at the National Information Resources Service held at the central disaster response headquarters in central Seoul on Sept. 28. [YONHAP]

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell for a third consecutive week, a survey showed Monday, amid concerns over stalled trade talks with the United States on Korea's massive investment pledge.

According to the survey by Realmeter commissioned by a local news outlet, 52 percent gave a positive assessment of Lee's job performance, down 1 percentage point from the previous week.

The negative assessment edged up 0.5 percentage points to 44.1 percent over the same period.

Realmeter said the decline reflected market concerns over the impasse in trade talks between Seoul and Washington, which have yet to be finalized since a framework deal was agreed upon in July, during Lee's visit to New York last week for the United Nations General Assembly.

Seoul officials said the $350 billion investment pledge required safeguards, such as a currency swap, and was intended to finance projects, but U.S. President Donald Trump insisted the investment would be made "up front."

The survey was conducted on 2,527 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 1,010 individuals aged 18 and on Thursday and Friday, the approval rating for the Democratic Party fell 0.9 percentage points to 43.3 percent.

Support for the People Power Party rose 0.3 percentage points to 38.3 percent.

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

Yonhap