President Lee Jae-myung's job approval rating slipped slightly to 59.1%, in what analysts attributed to a rallying of conservative voters following former President Park Geun-hye's return to the campaign trail ahead of the June 3 local elections.
According to a Realmeter survey commissioned by Energy Economy Newspaper of 2,008 voters aged 18 and older nationwide from May 26 to 29, positive assessments of Lee's job performance fell 0.2 percentage points from the previous week to 59.1%. Lee's approval rating has declined for two consecutive weeks, falling from 60.5% in the second week of May to 59.3% in the third week and 59.1% in the fourth week. Negative assessments, meanwhile, rose 0.7 percentage points from the previous survey to 36.8%.
"Despite the positive economic news of the KOSPI hitting an all-time high, negative developments in the safety sector such as the Seosomun collapse disaster, combined with former President Park Geun-hye's active campaign support for the People Power Party, helped rally conservative voters," Realmeter said.
By region, approval in Daejeon, Sejong and Chungcheong fell 5.9 percentage points from the previous survey to 58.2%. Seoul also recorded 50.8%, down 2.6 percentage points from the previous survey.
In contrast, approval in Daegu and North Gyeongsang rebounded 3.6 percentage points to 50.2%, while Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang rose 2.1 percentage points to 56.6%. Gwangju and Jeolla recorded 86.1%, up 3.6 percentage points from the previous survey.
By age group, support among voters in their 20s posted the largest decline, falling 8.5 percentage points to 42.8%. Approval among those in their 50s also slipped 1.1 percentage points from the previous survey to 70.3%.
Voters aged 70 and older showed the largest increase, rising 3.0 percentage points to 54.2%. Approval among those in their 60s climbed 2.3 percentage points from the previous survey to 61.9%, while support among those in their 30s rose 1.6 percentage points from the previous week to 49.5%.
By ideological orientation, approval among centrist voters rose 3.2 percentage points from the previous survey to 63.2%.
The survey was conducted via wireless automated response. Party support ratings conducted during the public disclosure ban period for the June 3 local elections were not released. Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.
