Seoul: President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating stood at 58.6 percent during the first week of his presidency, a poll showed Monday. In the Realmeter poll of 2,507 people aged 18 or above nationwide conducted from Monday to Friday last week, 58.6 percent said Lee did a good job, while 34.2 percent said he did not. The remaining 7.2 percent said they were unsure.
According to Yonhap News Agency, a presidential official expressed the administration's perspective on the poll results, stating, "We believe this reflects people's hope for an end to the insurrection, normalization of state affairs and restoration of democracy, and we accept it with humility." President Lee Jae-myung ascended to the presidency after winning the election on June 3, following the ousting of former President Yoon Suk Yeol over a failed martial law attempt.
The official further commented, "We will make steady preparations and carry out state affairs in a way that lives up to the public's expectations." When compared with the first-week approval ratings of former presidents, Lee's rating surpassed that of Yoon Suk Yeol, who had 52.1 percent, and former President Park Geun-hye, who had 54.8 percent. However, it was lower than that of former President Moon Jae-in, who had 81.6 percent, and former President Lee Myung-bak, who had 76 percent.
The approval rating for the ruling Democratic Party (DP) increased to 49.9 percent, marking a rise of 1.9 percentage points from the previous week. Meanwhile, support for the opposition People Power Party declined to 30.4 percent, a drop of 4.4 points, widening the gap with the DP by 19.5 percentage points. The poll has a margin of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.