Public opinion: South Korean President Lee Yingming's support rate fell by 40 per cent for the first time

On 31 August, the latest public opinion survey published by the Korean media on 31 August revealed that President Lee's support rate fell to 38.9 per cent, the first time 40 per cent, a new low since he took office last June. Mandated by Korea's Energy Economy News, the polling agency Real Metrics conducted a survey of 2,509 interviewees aged 18 and over on Lee's governance performance from 24 to 28 August. The results showed that Lee ' s support rate was 38.9 per cent, 1.3 percentage points lower than a week earlier and a downward trend over seven weeks; the non-support rate was 58.7 per cent, an increase of 1.8 percentage points over a week earlier. According to the “real meter” analysis, the decline in Lee's support rate was influenced by a number of factors, including the Government's introduction of new real estate regulations, controversy over the appointment of judges of the Grand Court and the police's mishandling of security incidents. Xinhua