Why Korean Gen Z is cooling on President Lee

President Lee Jae Myung listens to remarks during a talk concert for voters in their 20s and 30s at Gurumare Theater in Mapo District, Seoul, Sept. 19, 2025. Courtesy of Presidential Office

President Lee Jae Myung has a 66 percent approval rating overall, yet his support among voters in their 20s has stagnated at 48 percent, a gap that threatens the Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) hopes for a sweeping win in the June 3 local elections.

Experts say many young voters are disillusioned by a complex mix of economic and political frustrations. Young voters face a sluggish job market exacerbated by artificial intelligence replacing entry-level roles, a perceived absence of targeted youth policies and a ruling party focused on prosecution reforms that many view as disconnected from their everyday concerns.

According to a Gallup Korea poll released March 20, Lee’s overall approval rating remained in the high 60-percent range for the third consecutive month this year. However, his 48 percent approval among respondents aged 18 to 29 lags significantly behind voters in their 40s and 50s, who registered 78 percent and 77 percent, respectively. It also trails the 60 percent approval from voters in their 70s and older, a demographic that traditionally leans conservative.

This marks a sharp reversal from the June 3 presidential election last year. Exit polls from three major broadcast networks showed Lee securing 41.3 percent of the youth vote and just 34 percent from voters in their 70s, the lowest figures among all age groups. In a Gallup Korea poll from July, shortly after his inauguration, his support in both age demographics hovered in the low 50-percent range. Nine months later, his youth support has dropped while his backing from voters in their 70s and older has surged.

The chart generated by artificial intelligence shows President Lee Jae Myung's approval trends among voters in their 20s and those aged 70 and older.

Analysts attribute this shift to fundamentally different perceptions of the administration's priorities. Eom Kyung-young, head of the Zeitgeist Research Institute, said the government's cash welfare programs, such as recovery support funds and basic income for farming communities, disproportionately benefit voters in their 70s and older.

"While older adults are the beneficiaries of cash welfare policies, those in their 20s consistently oppose an administration stance that prioritizes present welfare expansion over the future," Eom said.

A Job Plus Center at a university in Seoul / Yonhap

This disconnect was evident in Gallup's March survey, where voters in their 20s gave the administration's welfare and labor policies the lowest positive evaluations of any age group, at 38 percent and 33 percent, respectively.

Furthermore, sluggish main industries and AI integration have contracted youth employment for eight consecutive quarters since the second quarter of 2024, yet the administration has offered no targeted policies.

"Talk of youth policies related to employment and marriage has seemingly disappeared," a public opinion expert said on condition of anonymity.

Yoon Tae-gon, chief analyst of the political think tank Moa, said the DPK's push for a parliamentary investigation into "fabricated indictments by political prosecutors" alienated young voters.

"Summoning prosecutors to hearings and shouting at them may satisfy supporters in their 40s, but it is irrelevant to those in their 20s," Yoon said. "Is there a reason for those in their 20s to support the current government and ruling party?"

Voters cast ballots for the next president at an early polling station at the Sinchon-dong Community Center in Seodaemun District, Seoul, May 30, 2025, during the final day of early voting. Korea Times photo by Park Si-mon.

This dissatisfaction has created a highly volatile electorate. Influenced partly by disarray within the conservative People Power Party, 46 percent of voters in their 20s now identify as unaffiliated, according to the Gallup data. This includes 45 percent of men in their 20s — a demographic with strong conservative leanings — and 46 percent of women in their 20s. Similarly, 36 percent of voters in their 30s are unaffiliated.

A Gallup Korea official said voters in their 20s and 30s generally show similar political tendencies, differing only in intensity.

With the local elections just 40 days away, political observers warn that the DPK must prevent this frustration from boiling over into a protest vote. Experts point to specific legislative moves as potential catalysts that could drive conservative-leaning young men to the polls. These include a proposal to abolish the special capital gains tax deduction for long-term single homeowners, as well as a parliamentary probe into Lee-related prosecution decisions.

An official from a public opinion polling company, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that high approval ratings for then-President Moon Jae-in among voters in their 20s and 30s drove the DPK's landslide victory in the 2018 local elections.

"They can only gain an edge in future national elections if they win these voters over," the official said.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.