President Yoon's Approval Rating at 32.2%, Slowly Climbing for the Second Week

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s approval ratings. Captured from the Realmeter website

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s approval rating climbed slightly for the second week in a poll released on August 22.

The polling firm, Realmeter conducted a survey of 2,011 adults nationwide on August 16-19, and the results showed that 32.2% of the people approved of President Yoon’s handling of state affairs, while 65.8% disapproved. Compared to a poll conducted by the same firm the previous week, the president’s approval rating rose 1.8%, while negative assessments of the president fell 1.4%.

The president’s approval rating rose the most in the Busan, Ulsan and Gyeongsangnam-do region, where it rose 6.9%. A closer look at the age groups showed that the president’s approval rating climbed the most, 6.8%, among people in their sixties.

The recent climb seems to reflect the promises of changes in state administration, which President Yoon made in his National Liberation Day address on August 15 and in the press conference on his 100th day in office on August 17. Some experts argue that the continuous drop in his approval ratings actually drew his key supporters closer together.

The poll on public support for political parties showed that 37.6% supported the People Power Party, while 44.4% supported the Democratic Party of Korea. However, the People Power Party managed to end the downward trend in three weeks and recovered 1.8% more support from the previous week. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party lost 2.7% of support from the previous week.

The latest survey had a confidence level of 95% and the margin of error was ±2.2%. The survey was conducted through cell phones (97%) and telephones (3%), and the response rate was 5.1%. For more details, please refer to the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.