Widespread Dissatisfaction Causes President's Popularity to Plummet

The popularity of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung continues to decline. His approval rating has fallen to 38.9%, marking the first time since taking office that it has dipped below the 40% threshold.

According to a Realmeter poll released on Monday (31/08/2026), Lee’s approval rating decreased by 1.3 percentage points from the previous week. Conversely, disapproval of Lee rose by 1.8 points to 58.7%, creating a gap of 19.8 percentage points between the two figures.

This decline marks the seventh consecutive drop. Realmeter attributes this trend to growing public dissatisfaction regarding house prices and rents, controversies surrounding the nomination of Supreme Court judges, and declining trust in the police following a missing persons case in Jeju.

Lee’s support saw its sharpest decline among voters in their 50s. Approval from this demographic plummeted by 7.5 points to 40.8%, continuing a three-week downward trend from 53% in the second week of August.

Lee’s popularity also declined among voters in their 40s, 60s, and those aged 70 and above. However, support from voters in their 30s actually surged by 8.8 percentage points.

Regionally, the largest declines were recorded in Daejeon, Sejong, and the Chungcheong region, where approval ratings for Lee dropped by 8.5 percentage points.

In addition to economic and housing issues, Realmeter noted that internal disputes within the administration have also contributed to the pressure on the President’s popularity. These various controversies are said to have contributed to the rise in public discontent.

The Realmeter survey was conducted between 24-28 August among 2,509 voters aged 18 and over across South Korea. The survey was conducted via automated telephone calls using randomly generated mobile numbers, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level and a response rate of 3.9%.