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Realmeter data on President Lee’s approval rating for the first week of September. / Source: Realmeter; Graphic: Park Jong-gyu

President Lee Jae-myung’s job-approval rating climbed to 56%, marking a third straight weekly increase. Analysts linked the rise to policies aimed squarely at everyday economic concerns.

According to a weekly tracker by pollster Realmeter, commissioned by Energy Economy News and released on September 7, Lee’s approval rose 2.4 percentage points from the previous week to 56%.

Negative assessments fell 3.1 points to 39.2%. The positive–negative gap widened to 16.8 points, beyond the margin of error and larger than a week earlier.

Realmeter cited the disaster declaration over the Gangneung drought, moves to classify wage arrears as a serious crime, and orders to curb regional price gouging as recent “people’s livelihood” steps that boosted approval.

Support rose by 6.4 points among workers in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and by 6.1 points in the Daejeon–Sejong–Chungcheong region. Among political moderates, approval climbed 5.6 points. Seoul and Daegu–North Gyeongsang gained 3.7 and 2.9 points, respectively, while ratings among people in their 50s and those 70 or older rose 4.3 and 4.7 points.

Some cohorts slipped. Approval among people in their 40s—Lee’s strongest age group—fell 2.8 points to 68.6%. Busan–Ulsan–South Gyeongsang dipped 1.5 points to 51.3%, and approval among progressives eased 2.6 points to 82.5%.

Party standings were mixed. The ruling Democratic Party fell 2.1 points to 44.6%, while the opposition People Power Party edged up 0.1 point to 36.2%. The gap narrowed from 10.6 points to 8.4 points.

Regionally, the Democratic Party tumbled 7.7 points in its stronghold of Gwangju–Jeolla and fell 13.4 points among people in their 40s. The People Power Party also lost ground in its base, dropping 5.6 points in Daegu–North Gyeongsang and 6.5 points among voters in their 60s.

Realmeter assessed that “the sexual misconduct controversy in The Rebuilding Korea Party expanded negative perceptions across the broader progressive camp.” For the People Power Party, “a hard-line response to the special counsel probe helped consolidate conservatives, but ongoing internal strife—such as remarks by Rep. Na Kyung-won—offset gains.”

Support for the New Reform Party, The Rebuilding Korea Party, and the Progressive Party stood at 4.5%, 2.7% and 1.3%, respectively.

The presidential approval survey was conducted September 1–5 among 2,519 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. The party-support poll was carried out September 4–5 among 1,005 voters, with a margin of error of ±3.1 points at a 95% confidence level.

Both surveys used 100% wireless RDD automated response (ARS). Full details are available from the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission and Realmeter.