South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s approval ratings have declined despite his increased efforts to engage with the public through social media. According to a recent national poll, Lee’s approval rating dropped by 2.2 percentage points to 35.2%, while his disapproval rating rose to 61.4%. This decline reflects diminishing support from centrist, conservative, and progressive voters amid escalating political tensions and concerns over government policies.
President Lee has been actively using the social media platform X to communicate directly with citizens, significantly boosting his activity from 37 posts in August to 116 in September, with an additional 65 posts in October at the time of reporting. He aims to clarify government policies, address political controversies, and showcase his administration’s achievements through these posts. Furthermore, he has promised to increase direct engagement through press conferences, public debates, field visits, and livestreams.
Despite these efforts, Lee’s administration faces criticism over various issues, including personnel appointments, judicial independence, national security, and rising housing costs in the Seoul metropolitan area. Additionally, disagreements over prosecution reform have sparked tension within the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.
The ruling party itself has experienced a significant drop in public support, decreasing by seven percentage points to 35.5% in a separate survey. Meanwhile, the main opposition, the People Power Party, saw its support rise to 41.3%, reversing the previous week’s standings, though the difference remains within the survey’s margin of error.
Opposition leaders have questioned whether President Lee’s social media strategy effectively addresses broader public concerns or merely engages his political allies. This debate emerges as the president seeks to rebuild public support amid ongoing disputes over economic policy, national security, and judicial independence.