▲ President Lee Jae Myung attends a meeting with his senior secretaries at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on May 28, 2026. (Yonhap)

Lee-approval rating

Lee's approval rating inches down to 59.1 pct: poll

SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell slightly from a week earlier partly due to negative sentiment over the deadly collapse of an overpass in central Seoul last week, a survey showed Monday.

In the poll commissioned by EKN newspaper and conducted by Realmeter, the positive assessment of Lee's job performance slipped 0.2 percentage point from a week before to 59.1 percent. The weekly survey was conducted on 2,008 people aged 18 and older from Tuesday through Friday.

The negative assessment rose 0.7 percentage point to 36.8 percent.

Lee's approval rating stood at 60.5 percent in the second week of May before falling to 59.3 percent the following week and further to 59.1 percent in the latest poll.

Realmeter said the partial collapse of the Seosomun Overpass in central Seoul last Tuesday overshadowed positive economic developments, including the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index hitting a record high.

The overpass collapsed during an on-site safety inspection while undergoing demolition, killing three people and injuring three others.

The pollster said former President Park Geun-hye's active support for the main opposition People Power Party's campaign for the June 3 local elections also helped rally conservative voters, leading to the slight decline in Lee's approval rating.

The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

A blackout period banning the publication of nationwide election-related polls, including party approval ratings, began Thursday.

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