Lee's approval rating inches down to 48.4% this week: poll

President Lee Jae Myung delivers the opening speech for the 48th session of the UNESCO World Hertiage Committee in Busan, Sunday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating edged down to 48.4 percent this week after rising for two consecutive weeks, a survey showed Monday.

In the poll conducted by Realmeter and commissioned by EKN newspaper, the positive assessment of Lee's job performance fell 0.5 percentage point from a week before to 48.4 percent. The weekly survey was conducted on 2,007 people aged 18 and older from Monday to Thursday.

Lee's approval rating stood at 46.5 percent in the last week of June before rising to 47 percent and 48.9 percent in the first and second weeks of July, respectively.

His disapproval rating rose 0.3 percentage point to 48 percent. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Realmeter said Lee's approval rating remained above 50 percent in the early parts of the week but declined toward the end of the week due to a series of negative factors, including the central bank's policy rate hike and a sharp stock market drop.

Tensions within the ruling party over stripping the prosecution of supplementary investigation powers also drove down support among voters in their 40s and liberal voters, according to the pollster.

In a separate survey conducted by the same pollster, support for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea fell 1.7 percentage points from a week earlier to 43.1 percent, while support for the main opposition People Power Party rose 1.9 percentage points to 40 percent.

The poll, conducted on 1,005 individuals aged 18 and over on Wednesday and Thursday, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, with a confidence level of 95 percent.