Public Opinion: 56.9% Negative... Sharp Rise of 2.8%p from Previous Week

President's job performance approval rating was calculated at 40.2%. The disapproval rating was 56.9%.

In a Realmeter opinion poll conducted on 2,026 men and women aged 18 and older nationwide from August 17 to 20, 2026, 40.2% of respondents evaluated the President's job performance positively, while 56.9% evaluated it negatively.

Job Performance Ratings Fall Compared to Previous Survey

The positive rating of 40.2% this time represents a drop of 2.8 percentage points from the 43% recorded in the August 18 survey. It is a 3.1 percentage point decrease compared to the August 10 survey (43.3%). The negative rating of 56.9% rose by 2.8 percentage points from the August 18 survey (54.1%) and rose by 3.9 percentage points from the August 10 survey (53%).

Momentum analysis shows that positive ratings have fallen for three consecutive weeks, while negative ratings have risen for three consecutive weeks.

Party Approval Ratings

In terms of party approval ratings, the Democratic Party of Korea was calculated at 41.9% and the People Power Party at 37.6%. The gap between the two parties is 4.3 percentage points, which is less than twice the margin of error (±2.2 percentage points), indicating a statistically insignificant close race.

The Rebuilding Korea Party followed with 3.9%, the Progressive Party with 2.3%, and the Reform Party with 2%.

Trends in Party Approval Ratings

The Democratic Party of Korea fell by 6.0 percentage points from 47.9% in the August 18 survey to 41.9% in this survey. Compared to the August 10 survey (44.6%), it is a decrease of 2.7 percentage points.

The People Power Party rose by 4.5 percentage points from 33.1% in the August 18 survey to 37.6%. The August 10 survey also recorded 37.6%, showing the same figure as this survey.

The Rebuilding Korea Party recorded 3.9%, up 1.4 percentage points from 2.5% in the August 18 survey. The Progressive Party rose 0.4 percentage points from 1.9% to 2.3% during the same period. The Reform Party fell 0.2 percentage points from 2.2% to 2.0%.

Compared to the August 10 survey, the Rebuilding Korea Party and the Progressive Party rose by 1.0 percentage point and 0.8 percentage points respectively, while the Reform Party fell by 0.9 percentage points.

Survey Overview

Client: Realmeter
Conducted by: Realmeter
Survey Period: August 17, 2026 ~ August 20, 2026
Target: 2,026 men and women aged 18 or older nationwide
Method: Wireless RDD ARS (Automated Response Survey)
Response Rate: 3.2%
Sampling Error: ±2.2%p at 95% confidence level
Weighting: Weights assigned by gender, age group, and region

For details, please refer to the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website (nesdc.go.kr).