By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak's approval rate marked 44 percent in the latest public opinion survey conducted by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI).
The approval rate is higher than his approval rate in March 2008 (42.2), a month after Lee was sworn in, showing Lee has experienced a U-shaped support trajectory.
Pollsters say there is a unique trend in the public support for the incumbent President, compared with that of his predecessors.
"Former presidents had an L-shaped support curve in common. This suggests that their popularity was high early in their terms but soon went sharply down," said Yoon Hee-woong, a KSOI pollster.
"Low support rates continued until their terms ended."
Compared with their trajectory, Yoon said, Lee has U-shaped support curve.
His approval rate hit a record low of 15.2 percent in June 2008 when hundreds of thousands citizens poured into the streets to join rallies against the government after its decision to resume the import of U.S. beef.
Lee's rate soared in October 2009, marking 44.6 percent.
Prior to the survey, the CEO-turned-President unveiled a set of protective measures for working-class families.
Yoon said there is a pattern in support for Presidents.
These political leaders tend to earn higher scores when achieving successful foreign policy outcomes.
This rule applies to Lee's approval rates.
His popularity rebounded after its diplomacy ended up with Korea being the winner of a nuclear power plant deal in the United Arab Emirates.
L. Gordon Flake, executive director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation in the United States, said the biblical phrase of "a prophet is not without honor except in his home town" would be the proper description of the assessment of Lee's first two years in office.
"People outside the country love him, but people in his hometown say `who is this guy?'" Flake said in an interview with The Korea Times, Monday.
Flake said internationally, Lee has a very good reputation because he played a leading role in several global initiatives such as responding to the global financial crisis.