President Lee's Approval Rating Hits New Low Amid Housing Policy Controversies

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell to a new low of 43 percent, marking the fifth consecutive weekly decline according to a Realmeter survey. The poll, conducted from August 10 to 14 among 2,511 voters, showed that 54.1 percent of respondents gave a negative assessment of Lee's job performance, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from the previous week. The survey has a confidence level of 95 percent with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Realmeter attributed the decline to voter dissatisfaction and confusion regarding the government's recent revisions to real estate tax codes and other housing policy controversies. Specifically, one source noted that a suggestion by Rep. Hwang Hee of the ruling Democratic Party to use decommissioned buses as housing for young people further contributed to the erosion of confidence. The sharpest decline in approval was recorded among voters in their 60s, where support fell 6.1 percentage points to 43.1 percent. Conversely, approval among voters in their 20s rose 3.1 percentage points to 31 percent.

While the center leaning report focused primarily on the demographic and partisan shifts in Lee's approval, the center right leaning report provided additional context regarding the opposition. According to that report, a separate Realmeter survey found that the main opposition People Power Party failed to benefit from Lee's decline, with its support falling 4.5 percentage points to 33.1 percent. This center right source framed the situation as a failure of the opposition to capitalize on government errors due to internal feuds, while noting that the ruling Democratic Party saw a support increase to 47.9 percent, potentially due to a bounce ahead of its national convention.