{
  "id": 19229824,
  "title": "Korea's economy is booming. Why isn't President Lee's popularity?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/koreas-economy-is-booming-why-isnt-president-lees-popularity-19229824",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-09T22:17:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/economy/20261110/koreas-economy-is-booming-why-isnt-president-lees-popularity"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Korea's economy appears robust, with projected annual exports surpassing $1 trillion for the first time, making it the fourth country to achieve this feat. Experts predict a real GDP growth rate of 3.5 percent, with some anticipating a higher rate of 4 percent. Per capita gross national income is also expected to reach the $40,000 mark for the first time, potentially ranking Korea sixth globally. Given these figures, it would seem that President Lee Jae Myung's approval ratings should be high. After all, the economy is often considered a major factor in presidential popularity. However, this is not the case. A recent survey by Realmeter of 2,528 adults nationwide, conducted between November 2 and November 5, revealed that Lee's approval rating stands at a mere 35.9 percent. This is a significant drop from his approval rating of 67 percent seven months ago, which remained in the high 30s to low 40s range since October.",
  "summary": "On paper, Korea's economy looks strong. Fueled by a semiconductor export boom, the country's annual exports are projected to top $1 trillion for the first time this year, making Korea only the fourth country to reach the milestone, after the United States, China and Germany. Forecasts from eight major investment banks put Korea's real gross domestic product growth at an average of 3.5 percent…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}