President Lee Jae-myung speaks on the phone with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the presidential office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. (Presidential Office via Yonhap)
President Lee Jae-myung speaks on the phone with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the presidential office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. (Presidential Office via Yonhap)

Seven out of 10 South Koreans believe President Lee Jae-myung will perform well during his five-year term, according to a poll released Friday, showing public confidence in Lee during the early days of his presidency.

The survey, conducted by local pollster Gallup Korea from Tuesday to Thursday — about a week after Lee was sworn into office — found that 70 percent of respondents expect him to do well.

Twenty-four percent said they do not expect him to perform well, while 6 percent were undecided.

The poll was conducted among 1,000 adults aged 18 and older nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

The approval outlook was particularly positive among the progressive bloc: 98 percent of Democratic Party of Korea supporters, 92 percent of self-identified progressives, and 95 percent of residents in the traditional liberal strongholds of Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces said they expect Lee to perform well.

Among conservatives, 45 percent expressed optimism, while 50 percent said they do not expect Lee to perform well.

However, Lee’s initial approval rating is lower than that of his predecessors at a similar point in their terms, within the first two weeks of taking office, except disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Former President Moon Jae-in (2017-2022) led with 87 percent, Kim Young-sam (1993-1998) followed with 85 percent, and both Lee Myung-bak (2008-2013) and Park Geun-hye (2013-2017) had 79 percent. Yoon (2022-2024) recorded 60 percent. Figures for Presidents Roh Tae-woo, Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun were excluded due to a lack of comparable data, the pollster said.

When asked what they expect most from the new president, 16 percent cited economic recovery. This was followed by 6 percent for both respondents who called for expanded welfare policies as well as those who simply hoped Lee would “do his best.” Another 5 percent pointed to national unity and bipartisan cooperation.

Nine percent of conservative respondents said they hoped Lee would not evade trial over his ongoing legal issues, while 9 percent of progressives called for an end to the political fallout from former President Yoon’s botched martial law attempt on Dec. 3, 2024.

Economic recovery remained the top priority for each bloc, cited by 11 percent of conservatives and 21 percent of progressives.

In terms of party support, the ruling Democratic Party recorded 46 percent, up 7 percentage points from the final preelection survey. Support for the conservative People Power Party fell to 21 percent, down 12 percentage points.

The minor conservative New Reform Party came in at 5 percent, followed by the progressive Rebuilding Korea Party (4 percent) and Progressive Party (1 percent).


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