▲ President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with his senior secretaries at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on March 12, 2026. (Yonhap)

Lee-approval rating

Lee's approval rating edges up for 2nd consecutive week: poll

By Yi Wonju

SEOUL, March 16 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating rose for the second consecutive week thanks in part to the government's efforts to stabilize oil prices as war in the Middle East has intensified, a poll showed Monday.

According to the survey by Realmeter commissioned by a local news outlet, 60.3 percent positively assessed Lee's handling of state affairs, up 2.1 percentage points from the previous poll, while 35 percent gave a negative assessment, down 2.1 percentage points.

This marks the first time Lee's approval rating topped the 60 percentage mark in a Realmeter poll since the fifth week of July last year.

"The government's swift introduction of preemptive economic and livelihood measures, such as a fuel price cap and an early supplementary budget amid soaring oil prices and inflation concerns stemming from the worsening Middle East situation, appears to have played a key role in boosting the approval ratings," the pollster said.

The latest survey was conducted on 2,513 adults from Monday through Friday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, with a confidence level of 95 percent.

In a separate survey conducted by the same pollster on 1,005 individuals aged 18 and over on Thursday and Friday, the approval rating for the ruling Democratic Party rose 2.4 percentage points from a week earlier to 50.5 percent.

The approval rating for the main opposition People Power Party fell 0.5 percentage point to 31.9 percent.

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

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