Negative Assessment of Presidential Performance Steady at 63.4%, Up 0.1%p from Previous Survey
Negative assessments of the president's performance stood at 63.4%.
In the Realmeter survey, positive assessments came in at 34.8% and negative assessments at 63.4%. Negative ratings rose 0.1 percentage point from the previous survey on September 14 (63.3%), while positive ratings climbed 1 percentage point from 33.8% over the same period. Compared with the September 7 survey, however, positive assessments fell 2.6 percentage points from 37.4%, while negative assessments surged 3.9 percentage points from 59.5%.
Presidential Performance Approval
In this survey, positive ratings stood at 34.8% and negative ratings at 63.4%. Negative assessments have now risen for three consecutive surveys. Compared with the previous survey, positive ratings rose 1 percentage point and negative ratings rose 0.1 percentage point. Notably, negative ratings jumped 3.9 percentage points compared with the survey two weeks earlier.
Party Support Ratings
In party support, the Democratic Party of Korea recorded 40.2% and the People Power Party 38.5%. With a gap of 1.7 percentage points, the difference falls within the margin of error (±2 percentage points) and is not statistically significant. The Rebuilding Korea Party drew 5.2%, the Reform Party 1.9%, and the Progressive Party 0.9%.
Comparison with Previous Surveys
Compared with the previous survey (September 14), the Democratic Party jumped 4.1 percentage points from 36.1% to 40.2%, while the People Power Party plunged 3.6 percentage points from 42.1% to 38.5%. The Rebuilding Korea Party rose 0.5 percentage point from 4.7% to 5.2%, and the Reform Party rose 0.6 percentage point from 1.3% to 1.9%. The Progressive Party slipped 0.4 percentage point from 1.3% to 0.9%.
Compared with the September 7 survey, the Democratic Party fell 1.6 percentage points from 41.8%, while the People Power Party rose 0.9 percentage point from 37.6%. The Rebuilding Korea Party gained 0.7 percentage point from 4.5%. The Progressive Party and the Reform Party each dropped 0.4 percentage point.
Survey Overview
Commissioner: Realmeter
Survey firm: Realmeter
Survey period: September 13–17, 2026
Respondents: 2,507 men and women aged 18 and older nationwide
Method: Wireless RDD automated response survey (ARS)
Response rate: 4.1%
Margin of error: ±2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level
Weighting: Weights applied by gender, age group, and region
For more details, please refer to the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website (nesdc.go.kr).
