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Lee's approval rating falls to 59 percent in latest poll, a 3 percent point drop from two weeks ago

Published: 25 Dec. 2025, 17:16

President Lee Jae Myung is seen visiting a traditional market in Busan on Dec. 23. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has declined slightly to 59 percent, a survey showed Thursday.

In a National Barometer Survey conducted from Monday to Wednesday, positive assessment of Lee's performance slipped 3 percentage points from a poll conducted two weeks earlier, while the negative assessment rose 2 percentage points to 32 percent.

Nationwide, positive assessment outweighed the negative assessment, except for in Daegu.

By age, positive assessment was higher in all age brackets except for those in their 20s.

The approval rating for the ruling Democratic Party also dropped 3 percentage points to 41 percent, while support for the main opposition People Power Party remained unchanged at 20 percent.

When asked to assess 2025, 53 percent of respondents said it was “not a good year” personally, and 56 percent said the same for the nation.

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with family and patients at a hospital in Seoul on Dec. 24. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

Looking ahead to 2026, 44 percent answered it will “become better,” 29 percent said it will be “similar to this year” and 24 percent said it will “become worse.”

On the most pressing issue facing the nation, “employment and economic recovery” topped the list at 32 percent, followed by the reform of powerful agencies at 18 percent, stabilizing the property market at 15 percent, addressing economic inequality at 14 percent and improving public welfare at 9 percent.

The survey was conducted by pollsters Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research and Hankook Research on 1,003 people aged 18 and older.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Yonhap