Lee's approval rating sinks to lowest point since taking office: Gallup poll

President Lee Jae Myung enters a meeting with top aides at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating dropped to 51 percent, marking its lowest level since he took office in June last year, a poll showed Friday.

The survey, conducted by Gallup Korea from Tuesday through Thursday on 1,000 people aged 18 and older, showed that the positive assessment of Lee's performance fell 6 percentage points from the previous survey released two weeks earlier.

His negative assessment rose 6 percentage points to 41 percent, marking the first time his disapproval rating exceeded 40 percent in Gallup polls.

The economy, housing policies and alleged irregularities involving the National Election Commission, the country's election watchdog, were cited as the main reasons for the negative assessment.

Support for the ruling Democratic Party remained the same at 41 percent from the previous survey, while that of the main opposition People Power Party fell 2 percentage points to 27 percent.

The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.