President Lee's approval at 51%, real estate policy approval at 26% [Gallup]

President Lee Jae-myung's job performance receives a 51% approval rating, according to a recent poll. However, a separate assessment of specific government policies reveals a stark contrast, with only 26% of respondents approving of the administration's real estate policies.

The poll, conducted by Korea Gallup from July 21-23 among 1,003 adults nationwide, indicated that 38% disapprove of President Lee's performance. This marks a slight dip from the previous week's 52% approval and 37% disapproval, and matches the lowest approval rating recorded since his inauguration in early June.

Reasons cited for positive evaluations included diplomacy (17%), economy and public livelihood (15%), and general competence (9%). Conversely, negative assessments pointed to real estate policy (22%), economy, public livelihood, and exchange rates (10%), and general incompetence (7%). Notably, the proportion of respondents citing "real estate policy" as a reason for disapproval jumped 11 percentage points from the previous week, reaching 22%. This is the first time real estate issues have emerged as the top reason for negative evaluations of the current government.

Further underscoring the concerns, a separate survey on major government policies conducted by Gallup from June 30 to July 2 found that only 26% of 1,000 adult respondents believe the real estate policy is being handled well. A significant 46% stated the policy is being handled poorly. This represents a substantial 25 percentage point decrease in approval for real estate policy compared to the 51% approval recorded in early March.