Moon's approval rating soars after summit
By Lee Min-hyung
President Moon Jae-in
President Moon Jae-in's approval rating bounced back to a record high following the successful outcome of Friday's inter-Korean summit, polls showed Wednesday.
In a survey of 710 adults, Hangil Research said Moon's approval rating surged to 85.7 percent over last weekend, up 12.9 percentage points, compared to a week ago.
The surge in popularity is largely due to a series of agreements signed during the recent summit when the two Koreas agreed to stop any military provocations and build lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
According to a Gallop Korea survey of 1,005 adults, the approval rating for Moon came in at an average of 73 percent for three days from April 24. Eighteen percent of them expressed discontent over Moon's state management, the survey showed.
By age, those in their 30s and 40s topped the list in support with more than 80 percent of them in favor of Moon. Those over 60 had the lowest rate of 18 percent, according to the poll.
The result, surveyed before the summit, came amid expectations for the inter-Korean summit between the President and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
With both sides exchanging a series of peace signals in recent months, Moon and Kim held their first-ever summit on Friday on the southern side of the border village of Panmunjeom.
During the historic summit, leaders of the two Koreas signed a string of peace agreements to put an end to their decades-long military and political tension since the 1950-53 Korean War. In particular, they agreed to end the technical state of war no later than this year by signing a peace treaty.
The resumption of inter-Korean dialogue was cited as the biggest reason to increase Moon's approval rating, with 23 percent of those surveyed choosing the category. His inter-Korean policy and security stance followed the list with 10 percent, according to the poll.
Realmeter, a political survey firm based in Seoul, also showed that Moon's recent approval rating hit 70.6 percent for the five days from April 23, the highest since the second week in January. The polling agency surveyed 2,502 adults across the nation for the poll which has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus two percentage points.
“The result is due to the inter-Korean summit and the North's pledges for denuclearization and peace signals on the Korean Peninsula,” the polling agency said. This historic gathering of the two leaders also helped draw the attention of the citizens, with the joint peace agreement playing a significant role to drive up Moon's approval rating, the poll showed.