But initial approval trails that of his predecessors, regional gap remains stark
Nearly six out of 10 South Koreans believe President Lee Jae-myung will perform well in office, according to a poll released Monday.
The survey, conducted by local pollster Realmeter on Wednesday and Thursday last week — shortly after the June 3 presidential election — found that 58.2 percent of respondents expect Lee to perform well. In contrast, 35.5 percent said they do not expect him to do well, while 6.3 percent said they were unsure.
The poll was conducted among 1,012 adults aged 18 and older nationwide.
While optimism outweighed concern, Lee’s initial approval is somewhat lower than that of his predecessors.
In Realmeter’s previous post-election surveys, 79.3 percent expressed a positive outlook for Lee Myung-bak (2008-2013), 74.8 percent for Moon Jae-in (2017-2022), 64.4 percent for Park Geun-hye (2013-2017) and 52.7 percent for Yoon Suk Yeol (2022-2024).
Regional differences were also pronounced.
Support for Lee was highest in Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces, traditional liberal strongholds, where 85.3 percent responded positively. In contrast, only 39.6 percent expressed optimism in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, the conservative bloc's strongholds.
In the capital region, 57.6 percent of respondents in Seoul had a positive outlook, along with 59.9 percent in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon.
By age group, support was highest among those in their 40s at 76.6 percent, followed by those in their 50s at 70 percent, 30s at 57.1 percent, 60s at 50.9 percent, and those 70 and older at 48.9 percent. The lowest support came from respondents in their 20s, at 41.3 percent.
When asked what the new administration’s top priority should be, 41.5 percent of respondents cited economic recovery and stabilizing livelihoods.
Prosecution and judicial reform followed at 20.4 percent, then national unity and conflict resolution at 12.8 percent, political reform and bipartisan cooperation at 8.3 percent, and addressing the low birth rate and aging population issues at 4.6 percent.
In terms of party support, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea garnered 48 percent, up 1.2 percentage points from the previous poll. The conservative People Power Party recorded 34.8 percent, down 0.3 percentage points.
Support for the New Reform Party stood at 5.8 percent, the Rebuilding Korea Party at 3.7 percent and the Progressive Party at 1.4 percent.
flylikekite@heraldcorp.com
