Yoon’s support rating remains at 20% for two weeks in a row

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating for his administration has remained at 20% for the second consecutive week, according to a public opinion poll released on Friday. This marks a continued struggle after his approval rating, considered the psychological threshold for maintaining political momentum, fell below 20% three weeks ago to a record low of 17% and briefly rebounded but failed to sustain an upward trend.

Support for the People Power Party increased by one percentage point from last week, reaching 28%. Regarding the court ruling on Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, 43% of respondents viewed it as a "fair judgment," while 42% called it "unjust political oppression." Political analysts noted that "there was no reflective gain for the ruling bloc following the Nov. 15 sentencing of Lee, who received a one-year prison sentence with a two-year suspended sentence for violating the Public Official Election Act."

According to the November third-week survey by Gallup Korea, President Yoon’s approval rating stood at 20%, unchanged from the previous week. In the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region, his support rose by four percentage points to 41%. Among People Power Party supporters, approval climbed by three percentage points to 59%. Gallup commented, "Only among the ruling party supporters did the approval rating exceed 50%, while views among the elderly aged 70 and above and those with conservative leanings were evenly divided between positive and negative."

The disapproval rating for Yoon’s performance rose by one percentage point from the previous week to 72%. Among those disapproving, "issues related to First Lady Kim Keon Hee" (14%) were cited as the top reason for the fifth consecutive week, followed by "economy, livelihood, and inflation" (13%) and "overall poor performance" (7%).

Support for the People Power Party increased by one percentage point to 28%, while support for the Democratic Party remained unchanged at 34%. Neither party showed significant changes in public support. "Two weeks ago, the Democratic Party recorded its highest support this year at 36%, widening the gap,” Gallup explained. “Last week, the gap remained as both parties saw a decline in support. This week, there has been virtually no change from last week."


조권형 기자 buzz@donga.com