Lee’s approval rating hits 60% a month into term: poll

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a press conference at the Blue House in Jongno-gu, central Seoul, Thursday. (Yonhap)

President Lee Jae Myung’s approval rating has surpassed 60 percent for the first time since he took office on June 4, according to a Realmeter poll released Monday.

The survey, conducted from June 30 to Friday on 2,508 respondents aged 18 and older, found that 62.1 percent said Lee was “doing well” in handling state affairs. Meanwhile, 31.4 percent said he was “doing poorly,” and 6.5 percent responded that they were “not sure.”

Lee’s approval rating has risen for four consecutive weeks. Compared to the previous week, the “doing well” figure increased by 2.4 percentage points, while the “doing poorly” figure declined by 2.2 points.

Notably, Lee’s approval rating exceeded 50 percent in all regions nationwide.

His strongest support came from Gwangju and South Jeolla Province at 76.9 percent, followed by Incheon and Gyeonggi Province at 63.5 percent, and Seoul at 62.1 percent — up 7.6 percentage points from the previous week.

By age group, Lee received the highest approval rating from respondents in their 40s, at 78.2 percent, followed by those in their 50s at 73.1 percent and 60s at 61.6 percent.

The only age group where support did not exceed the majority threshold was respondents in their 20s, at 47 percent.

Meanwhile, a separate Realmeter survey, conducted Thursday and Friday, showed a widening gap in party support between the ruling and opposition blocs.

The ruling Democratic Party garnered 53.8 percent support, up 3.2 percentage points from the previous week. In contrast, the main opposition People Power Party saw its support fall to 28.8 percent, down 1.2 percentage points.

It was the first time the opposition party’s support dropped below 30 percent since December, following former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s controversial martial law declaration on Dec. 3.

Among minor parties, the minor conservative New Reform Party posted 3.2 percent, the Rebuilding Korea Party 3.1 percent, and the Progressive Party 0.6 percent — both of the latter considered left-leaning, according to the survey.