▲ President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on May 20, 2026. (Yonhap)

president-approval rating

Lee's approval rating inches down to 66 pct: poll

SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell for a second consecutive survey to 66 percent, a biweekly poll showed Thursday.

In a National Barometer Survey (NBS) conducted from Monday to Wednesday, the positive assessment of Lee's performance dipped 1 percentage point from the previous poll conducted two weeks ago, while his negative assessment rose 1 percentage point to 24 percent.

Lee's approval rating had stood at a record high of 69 percent for three consecutive NBS polls from late March through late April, before dipping to 67 percent early this month and 66 percent in the latest poll.

The same survey showed that the ruling Democratic Party (DP) is leading the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) by 25 percentage points in terms of approval ratings, although the gap narrowed from two weeks earlier, with less than two weeks left until the June 3 local elections.

Support for the DP fell 1 percentage point to 45 percent from the previous survey, while the approval rating for the PPP rose 2 percentage points to 20 percent.

On the upcoming local elections, 52 percent of respondents said voters should support the ruling party for stability, while 31 percent said they should back the opposition to keep the government in check.

The survey was conducted by pollsters Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research and Hankook Research on 1,001 people aged 18 and older.

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

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]