On March 28, a survey result showed that more people had negative projections of President-elect Yoon Seok-youl’s handling of state affairs when he enters office than positive expectations.

Realmeter conducted a survey of 2,512 people ages eighteen and older nationwide on March 21-25 upon request from Media Herald and released the results this day. According to the poll (fourth week of March), when asked, “Do you think President-elect Yoon will do a good job in handling state affairs after his inauguration?” 49.6% of the respondents answered “No.” People who answered “Yes” accounted for 46.0% of the respondents. Negative projections increased by 4.0% from the same survey conducted in the previous week, while positive assessments fell 3.2%.

Negative projections recorded 41.2% in a survey by the same firm conducted in the second week of March and continued to climb recording 45.6% in the third week and 49.6% in the fourth week. Positive expectations recorded 52.7% in the second week of March and continued to fall, recording 49.2% in the third week, and 46.0% in week four.

As for President Moon Jae-in’s handling of state affairs, 46.7% gave a positive assessment, while 50.7% thought he did a bad job. Positive responses increased 4.0% from the same survey conducted a week ago, while negative evaluations fell 3.5%. The president’s approval rating continued to rise after it recorded 38.1% in the second week of March, 42.7% in week three and 46.7% in week four, while negative views have declined from 58.8% in week two to 54.2% in week three and 50.7% in week four.

A simple comparison of the incumbent president’s approval rating and positive expectations for the president-elect’s state administration after his inauguration showed that expectations for President-elect Yoon (46.0%) were lower than President Moon’s approval rating (46.7%).

At a press briefing at the presidential transition committee in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul this day, when a reporter pointed out that the approval rating for President-elect Yoon and President Moon showed a “death cross,” the president-elect’s spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said, “We will sincerely accept the poll result and try to serve the people with a humbler and more modest attitude in the future.” The president-elect and the president are scheduled to meet in Cheongwadae at 6 p.m. this day.

The approval ratings of political parties recorded 42.7% for the Democratic Party of Korea, 40.0% for the People Power Party, 6.8% for the People’s Party and 3.5% for the Justice Party. The Democratic Party’s approval rating climbed 1.4% from the previous week, while the People Power Party saw their approval rating drop 0.7%. The difference between the two parties in the previous week’s survey was 0.6%, but the gap increased to 2.7% in the latest survey.

The latest survey had a confidence level of 95% with a ±2.0% margin of error and a response rate of 7.5%. For more details, please refer to the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.