47% Say Economy Is Mishandled… Negative Views Overtake Positive for First Time

Negative assessments of the Lee Jae-myung government's economic policies overtook positive ones for the first time since the administration took office, a survey showed Friday. In a telephone survey of 1,000 adults aged 18 and older nationwide conducted by Gallup Korea from Friday to Sunday (sampling error ±3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level), 35% said the government is doing a good job on economic policy, while 47% said it is doing poorly. Positive assessments of economic policy peaked at 58% in March and have declined since, falling below negative assessments for the first time this month.

Compared with Gallup Korea's July survey, negative assessments rose sharply in three areas: personnel affairs, North Korea policy, and real estate policy. Negative views on personnel affairs rose from 41% to 57%, while positive views stalled at 20%. On North Korea policy, those saying the government is doing a poor job jumped from 39% to 55%, more than double the share saying it is doing well (24%). Negative assessments of real estate policy also climbed from 46% to 61%.

Welfare and diplomacy were the only areas where positive views outweighed negative ones. Welfare posted 48% positive versus 32% negative, while diplomacy recorded 43% positive and 38% negative. Labor policy was roughly even, at 34% positive and 37% negative.

Support for the Democratic Party of Korea fell to 35%, its lowest level since the current government took office, while the People Power Party stood at 26% and independents at 31%.