President Lee humbly accepts public opinion after approval tanks 9.4 points

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung issued an apology and stated he "humbly accepts the objective assessment of the people" after his approval rating plummeted in the wake of last week’s local elections. The apology follows his earlier description of the election outcome, considered a qualified victory for his ruling Democratic Party, as a "warning from the nation."

"I apologize to the South Korean people," Lee wrote on social media platform X. "I will be humble and bow my head even lower. I will reach out to more people, be more generous, and work harder." He shared a news article detailing a poll by the Korea Society Opinion Institute, which showed his approval rating at 50.4%, a drop of 9.4 points from late May. Disapproval rose 10.5 percentage points to 45.7%, narrowing the gap between approval and disapproval to within the margin of error for the first time since Lee took office.

The ruling Democratic Party also experienced a decline in support, falling to 38.6%, down 4.7 percentage points. Conversely, the People Power Party's approval rose to 38.1%, an increase of 6.5 percentage points. The poll, conducted via an automated telephone response system, indicated a particularly sharp decline in Lee's approval among respondents in their 20s and 30s, and among residents of Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Province.

The Korea Society Opinion Institute suggested that the rallying of the People Power Party's base in the election's final stages may have influenced the evaluation of the administration's performance. However, they noted that with Lee's job approval rating still in the 50% range, it is difficult to conclude that the administration's momentum has been significantly weakened. Future assessments will likely depend on the administration's ability to produce tangible results on major national policy tasks.

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I apologize to the South Korean people. I will be humble and bow my head even lower. I will reach out to more people, be more generous, and work harder.