{
  "id": 4529478,
  "title": "Lee's approval rating falls below 40% for 1st time: poll",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/lees-approval-rating-falls-below-40-for-1st-time-poll",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-31T00:22:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/politics/20260831/lees-approval-rating-falls-below-40-for-1st-time-poll"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating dipped below the 40 percent threshold for the first time since his inauguration in June, according to a recent poll conducted by Realmeter for the EKN newspaper. The survey, which polled 2,509 individuals aged 18 and older, revealed that 38.9 percent of respondents had a positive view of Lee's performance, a drop of 1.3 percentage points from the previous week. Conversely, 58.7 percent expressed a negative view, an increase of 1.8 percentage points. Realmeter attributed the rating decline to mounting public dissatisfaction with housing prices, controversy surrounding the presidential office's refusal to appoint a Supreme Court justice nominee, and concerns about police handling of a missing woman case on the southern island of Jeju. Notably, Lee's office recently opted not to nominate one of two Supreme Court justice candidates recommended by the chief justice, citing a lack of prior consultation with the office. The survey's margin of error was reported to be plus or minus 2 percentage points at a 9 percent confidence level.",
  "summary": "President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell below the 40 percent mark for the first time since he took office in June last year, a survey showed Monday, amid public dissatisfaction over housing policy. According to the survey conducted by Realmeter and commissioned by the EKN newspaper among 2,509 respondents aged 18 and older, 38.9 percent gave a positive assessment of Lee's performance, down…",
  "key_points": [
    "President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell below 40% for the first time.",
    "38.9% of respondents had a positive view of Lee's performance.",
    "Negative view increased to 58.7%, up 1.8 percentage points."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The drop in President Lee's approval rating signals growing public discontent with his handling of key issues, including housing prices, judicial appointments, and law enforcement.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Lee's approval rating falls below 40 pct for 1st time: poll",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/lees-approval-rating-falls-below-40-pct-for-1st-time-poll",
        "published": "2026-08-30T23:45:34.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Lee's approval rating falls below 40% for 1st time: poll",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/lees-approval-rating-falls-below-40-for-1st-time-poll-4530961",
        "published": "2026-08-31T00:27:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}