Moon's rating increases amid job creation push

By Rachel Lee

President Moon Jae-in’s approval rating rose this week after the passage of the government’s supplementary budget bill aimed at creating jobs and boosting the economy, a poll showed Friday.

His job performance rating reached 77 percent, up 3 percentage points from a week earlier, according to a survey by Gallup Korea.

The pollster surveyed 1,008 adults from Tuesday to Thursday for the survey, with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

Those who disapproved of his work came to 13 percent, down 3 percentage points from the previous week. Nine percent refused to answer.

Those who approved of Moon’s job said the President was good at communicating with the public and fulfilling his campaign pledges. Some said they supported Moon for his job creation push.

The National Assembly passed the 11.03 trillion won ($9.8 billion) extra spending bill Saturday, which aims to create 2,575 central government jobs.

The rating for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) stood at 50 percent, up 4 percentage points from the previous week. The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) had 10 percent support, down 1 percentage point.

The Justice Party recorded the lowest level of 4 percent, down 4 percentage points from the previous week, since the presidential election in May.

The minor opposition People’s Party also had 4 percent support, down 1 percentage point.

The support for the splinter Bareun Party had the same figure as last week, which stood at 8 percent.

Moon’s approval rating has reached 93 percent in the Jeolla provinces and Gwangju, the traditional stronghold of the liberals, the poll showed. His support in the conservative Gyeongsang provinces stood at 78 percent.

The survey also showed that Moon’s rating was above 90 percent for people in their 20s. The figures for those in their 30s and 40s were 87 percent and 88 percent, respectively.