Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Yoon snaps downtrend in approval ratings upon US visit
President Yoon Suk Yeol waves as he leaves the presidential jet at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday, as he returned home from a six-day state visit to the U.S. Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
By Nam Hyun-woo
President Yoon Suk Yeol snapped a four-week-long downtrend in his approval ratings, buoyed by positive responses to his recent U.S. state visit.
According to a poll by Realmeter released Monday, 34.5 percent of respondents said they approved of Yoon's presidency, up 1.9 percentage points from a week earlier. Yoon's disapproval rating was 62.6 percent, down 2.1 percentage points from the previous week.
The rebound is attributable to Yoon's U.S. state visit and summit with President Joe Biden.
“Last week's job approval rating is fully about Yoon's state visit,” a Realmeter analyst said. “Yoon's address at a joint session of the U.S. Congress received favorable responses, becoming a fresh aspect for approval ratings.”
Yoon delivered an address at the U.S. Congress last Thursday (local time), becoming the first Korean president to do so in 10 years. In his speech in English, he underscored the importance of the Seoul-Washington alliance and coalition to safeguard freedom, receiving 26 rounds of standing ovations.
In Realmeter polls, Yoon's approval ratings had been faltering from 36.7 percent in the fifth week of March, in a negative response to Yoon's summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Along with Japan's lukewarm response to Yoon's rapprochement gesture on historical issues, Japanese media reports stirred controversy over Tokyo's claims to the Korean territory of Dokdo islets and the planned release of radioactive wastewater from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, damaging the public sentiment toward Yoon's diplomacy.
Adding more controversies were media reports on leaked Pentagon documents showing that the U.S. may have spied on Korea's senior presidential aides, and the ensuing insufficient response from Yoon's office. This resulted in Yoon's approval rating remaining at 32.6 percent last week.
“For Yoon's predecessors, overseas trips have boosted their approval ratings, but that was not the case for Yoon,” the analyst said. “In this sense, the latest rebound in his approval rating shows that the public concerns on Yoon's diplomacy are somewhat addressed.”
The poll surveyed 2,507 adults from April 24 to 28 at the request of Media Tribune. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.