Lee's approval rating falls to 58 pct

▲ President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with senior secretaries at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Jan. 15, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Lee-approval rating

Lee's approval rating falls to 58 pct

By Yi Wonju

SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell to 58 percent this week as the economy remains stagnant, a poll showed Friday.

The survey by Gallup Korea, conducted Tuesday through Thursday on 1,000 respondents aged 18 and over, showed that the positive assessment of Lee's overall performance dropped 2 percentage points from the previous week.

The negative assessment rose by 1 percentage point to 32 percent, while 10 percent said they were undecided.

Diplomacy was cited most frequently for positive evaluation, at 36 percent, followed by his policies on the economy and livelihood issues at 12 percent.

The pollster noted that diplomacy was the top reason cited for positive evaluations following Lee's visits to China and Japan, but said it failed to lift his approval rating.

Among the negative responses, 26 percent pointed to concerns over the economy, while 9 percent cited his overall performance and 8 percent to his "pro-China" policies.

Earlier this month, Lee made separate trips to China and Japan, and held summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

The approval rating for the ruling Democratic Party came to 41 percent, down 4 percentage points, while that of the main opposition People Power Party stood at 24 percent.

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

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