President Yoon’s Approval Dips Below 25%: A Historical Low for South Korea

President Yoon Suk Yeol has the lowest positive job performance rating among all presidents elected since 1987 after two years in office. According to the second week of May survey by Gallup Korea, President Yoon Suk Yeol’s positive job performance rating was 24%.

According to the survey results released by Gallup, 24% of respondents evaluated the president’s job performance positively, while 67% evaluated it negatively. The positive evaluation showed a slight increase from the 23% recorded in April. However, Gallup explained that a press conference on these results, held on the last day of the three-day survey period, was not reflected.

President Yoon’s efforts to communicate were not positively evaluated, and the reasons for the negative evaluations were primarily insufficient communication, economy/livelihood/prices, and arbitrary/unilateral decisions.

This evaluation was conducted in conjunction with assessments of seven areas, including economy, welfare, education, North Korea policy, diplomacy, real estate policy, and personnel, to mark the second year of Yoon’s government. Of these, North Korea’s policy received the highest positive evaluation, while personnel, economy, and real estate policies were at their lowest levels since the current government took office.

The highest positive rating around two years into the term since the Roh Tae Woo government, which took office in 1987, was 49% for former President Kim Dae Jung. This was followed by former President Moon Jae In at 47%, and former President Lee Myung Bak at 44%. In the 30% range was former President Kim Young Sam at 37%, former President Roh Moo Hyun at 33%, former President Park Geun Hye at 33%, and former President Roh Tae Woo at 28%.

However, the highest and lowest approval ratings for each president vary greatly depending on the time of their term. Former President Roh Tae Woo had the highest approval rating of 57% and the lowest of 18%, while former President Kim Young Sam, of the civilian government, had the highest approval rating of 83% and the lowest of 6%. Former President Kim Dae Jung recorded the highest approval rating of 71% and the lowest of 24%.

Former President Roh Moo Hyun, who was president after 2000, had the highest approval rating of 60% and the lowest of 12%. Former President Lee Myung Bak recorded the highest approval rating of 52% and the lowest of 21%. Former President Park Geun Hye had the highest approval rating of 67% and the lowest of 4%. Just before the Yoon Suk Yeol government, former President Moon Jae In recorded a highest approval rating of 84% and a lowest of 29%.

Looking at the five-year average approval ratings of past presidents, President Moon Jae In topped the list with 52.6%. His approval rating was in the 70-80% range in the early days of his term due to the North-South summit and the North American summit, and he continued to maintain 50% even afterward. As he entered his fifth year, his relatively high approval rating of 35% fell, but he maintained around 40%.

The next government, under President Kim Dae Jung, had an average approval rating of 42.9%. Despite the IMF foreign exchange crisis, he maintained a stable approval rating due to his South-North peace policy and the first South-North summit, but his approval rating plummeted at the end of his term due to corruption scandals involving his sons.

President Park Geun Hye maintained a solid approval rating of around 50% in the early days of her administration and recorded a high approval rating of 41.9% on average for four years until her impeachment. However, after the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, her approval rating fell, and most of her support base collapsed in the second half of 2016 when the Choi Soon Sil political scandal broke out.

Former President Kim Young Sam started well with 80% due to the introduction of the real-name financial system, but his approval rating plummeted due to major accidents such as the collapse of the Sampoong Department Store. In the end, his average approval rating over five years was 39.6%. At the end of his term, his approval rating plummeted to the 6% range due to his son’s corruption. President Lee Myung Bak recorded an approval rating of 35.3% on average over five years. His approval rating fell from the beginning of his term due to the mad cow disease uproar and the spread of candlelight rallies, and he had an approval rating in the mid-20% range before his retirement.

President Roh Tae Woo recorded the lowest average approval rating of 29.8% among all presidents. His approval rating was over 50% due to the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but it fell afterward. President Roh Moo Hyun’s approval rating fell to the 20% range from the beginning due to soaring real estate prices. It continued to hover around 20%. The five-year average approval rating was 27.4%.

Most presidents’ approval ratings tend to start high and end low. Therefore, the final statistics on President Yoon’s approval ratings will only be clear at the end of his term.