Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Housing policy, prosecution reform drag president's approval rating to record low
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a joint policy briefing with the foreign, unification, defense and veterans ministries at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
No clear factors ahead for turnaround
President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has fallen to a new low since he took office, as public discontent grew over politically sensitive issues, including housing policy, prosecution reform and his controversial remarks about the Korea Military Academy, a survey showed Monday.
The Realmeter survey, commissioned by Energy Economic News, also showed that public support for Lee slipped below the support rate for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) for the first time in his presidency, now in its second year.
"Controversies over the real estate tax overhaul, prosecution reform, Lee's remarks linking the Korea Military Academy to a coup, along with the prolonged heat wave and economic uncertainty, have led to a broader erosion of support," Realmeter said in a press release.
The dispute over real estate tax reform centers on potentially raising taxes for owners of high-value homes, as housing remains one of the nation's most politically sensitive issues, particularly in Seoul.
The controversy over prosecution reform was sparked by a legislative revision that completely strips prosecutors of their direct investigative powers, raising concerns that shortcomings in police investigations could go unaddressed.
As for the Korea Military Academy, Lee pointed to its graduates' involvement in past military coups and raised the possibility of another coup as he called for a fast-track merger of the Army, Navy and Air Force academies into a single institution — a remark that drew vehement protest from current and former members of the academy.
Under the circumstances, the survey showed Lee's approval rating fell for a fourth consecutive week to 43.3 percent, down 2.6 percentage points from the previous week.
Support for the DPK stood at 44.6 percent in a separate survey, putting the president 1.3 percentage points behind his own party for the first time during his administration.
Negative assessments of Lee's performance rose 2.5 percentage points to 53 percent, leaving them 9.7 percentage points above positive assessments and outside the survey's margin of error.
The pollster said the erosion of Lee's support was particularly pronounced in Seoul and among conservative and older voters.
By region, Lee suffered his steepest decline in Seoul, where his approval rating dropped 5.9 percentage points from the previous week to 36.8 percent.
His rating also fell 5.5 percentage points to 29.8 percent in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province combined and 4.8 percentage points to 38.7 percent in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province combined.
By age, Lee's rating fell 5.6 percentage points among people aged 70 and older to 43.4 percent and 5.3 percentage points among those in their 60s to 49.2 percent.
Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, said Lee's approval rating could fall further as the factors behind the decline are unlikely to be resolved soon.
"Housing problems cannot be fixed overnight, while stripping prosecutors of their investigative powers could continue to raise concerns over victims of crime," Shin said. "The controversy surrounding Lee's military academy remarks could also add to broader unease among conservatives over national security under the liberal government."
Although the decline was not as wide as those of other age groups, Lee continued to face notably weak support among younger voters, with his approval rating among those in their 20s falling 2.5 percentage points to 27.9 percent and, by profession, support among students dropping 4.8 percentage points to 25.1 percent.
The ruling party also showed signs of weakening support among young voters. Its support among those in their 20s plunged 10.7 percentage points, while support for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) in the same age group rose 5.2 percentage points. PPP garnered 37.6 percent on average among all age groups, leaving the gap between the two major parties at 7 percentage points.
The presidential approval survey was conducted Aug. 3 to 7 among 2,514 adults nationwide, while the separate party survey was conducted Thursday and Friday among 1,007 adults.
The first and second surveys had margins of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points and 3.1 percentage points, respectively, at a 95 percent confidence level. For more details, visit the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.