Old poll numbers falsely shared as South Korean president's post-impeachment approval ratings

Published on January 7, 2025 at 07:10
3 min read
By SHIM Kyu-Seok, AFP South Korea

A graphic showing old polling data from 2022 has been shared in social media posts that falsely claimed it showed impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval numbers were on the rise after his short-lived martial law bid in December 2024. Two of the pollsters cited in the graphic have not released Yoon's approval figures since he was suspended from office, and the remaining two's latest joint poll showed the president's approval rating had dropped to 16 percent.

The graphic, titled "President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating as measured by different pollsters", was shared on Facebook on January 1, 2025.

It appears to show the results of surveys conducted by pollsters Realmeter, Kstat Research, Korea Research and Next Research between December 26 and 31, with Yoon's approval reaching between 36.2 and 40.3 percent.

The Korean-language caption read: "The fact that [Yoon's] approval rose means the number of people who have not been fooled by the press's propaganda and know the truth is growing."

Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on January 3, 2025

Yoon's bungled declaration of martial law on December 3 plunged South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades (archived link).

He was impeached on December 14 and the former star prosecutor is also being investigated on charges of "insurrection", which could lead to him facing prison or, at worst, the death penalty (archived link).

Yoon, however, has refused questioning three times and is holed up in his residence surrounded by hundreds of guards preventing his arrest. Supporters have also raced to Seoul to support him in the wake of his refusal, spewing vitriol at police and waving anti-impeachment placards.

A failed arrest attempt on January 3 left investigators trying to extend the warrant's deadline and asking for help from police.

The graphic and claim that the impeached president's approval rating was on the rise was also shared elsewhere on Facebook here, here and here.

Comments on the posts suggested social media users believed the polling figures were recent.

"The media was lying about how many people disapprove of the president, almost half the country is on our side!" one user wrote.

Another wrote: "This shows many people still trust in the president."

Old poll numbers

A keyword search found the graphic was altered from one used in a Yonhap news agency report published on January 2, 2023 -- almost two years before Yoon's declaration of martial law (archived link).

The graphic shared in the false posts (left) covers up the date the survey was conducted in December 2022 and crops out the Yonhap logo, which can be seen at the bottom of the original graphic (right):

Screenshot comparison between the graphic shared on Facebook (left) and the Yonhap News graphic published in January 2023 (right). AFP marked the date of the survey in the original grpahic in red

AFP could not find any poll results from December 2024 put out by the four pollsters that matched the numbers in the graphic.

Realmeter posted alongside its latest poll published January 6, 2025, that it was "not surveying President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval ratings while his authority is under suspension" and that it would only resume such polling "if Yoon returns to power should the Constitutional Court overrule his impeachment" (archived link).

Kstat Research and Korea Research's latest joint poll published on December 19, put Yoon's approval at 16 percent and his disapproval at 79 percent (archived link).

Next Research did not publish a poll in December 2024.

AFP has previously debunked false claims about support for Yoon's failed martial law bid here and here.

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