The public approval rating of Saenuri Party's presidential candidate Park Geun-hye showed an upward curve over the past week, apparently boosted by her visits to the graves of former presidents supported by the opposition camp, pollsters said Sunday.
In what the ruling party called "national unity" visits, Park visited the graves of former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun the day after her win in Saenuri's presidential primary race on Aug. 20.
She also met with the widows of the two former presidents who are widely respected by presidential candidates of the main opposition Democratic United Party.
In a poll by Real Meter, Park's approval rating jumped from 45.3 percent on Aug. 20 to 48.4 percent on Aug. 21, while the rating of her potential rival and software entrepreneur-turned-professor Ahn Cheol-soo fell from 48.7 percent to 45.8 percent in the same period.
Between Aug. 22 and Aug. 24, Park's approval ratings stood at between 48.7 percent and 49.8 percent, compared with Ahn's range of 44.3 percent to 45.4 percent, Real Meter said.
In a separate survey by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, Park lagged behind Ahn by a ratio of 42.5 percent to 47.1 percent between Aug. 18-20. In the period of Aug. 21-23, however, Park's rating jumped to 47.2 percent, compared with Ahn's 45.1 percent.
Pollsters forecast Park's approval rating may fall again after the main opposition party elects its own presidential candidate or if Ahn formally announces his presidential candidacy. (Yonhap)