Moon's approval rating rises amid economic drive

President Moon Jae-in / Yonhap

President Moon Jae-in's job approval rating slightly increased this week, a poll showed Friday, amid his stepped-up efforts to revitalize the economy.

The president's job approval rating came to 47 percent in a weekly poll conducted by Gallup Korea, up 1 percentage point from a week earlier.

The latest poll was conducted on 1,004 adults throughout the nation. The weekly poll is conducted from Tuesday through Thursday.

The rise apparently follows Moon's continued efforts to revamp the economy amid concerns that Asia's fourth-largest economy may grow at a slower pace than last year.

The Bank of Korea has slashed its growth outlook for the local economy to 2.6 percent from its 2.7 percent forecast in October. The South Korean economy is estimated to have expanded 2.7 percent in 2018.

Moon has held a series of meetings with various economic players, ranging from top executive officers of the largest conglomerates to self-employed business people, since the beginning of the year to ask for their support in creating more jobs and making fresh investments.

He even traveled to Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, on Thursday to personally welcome a joint investment deal between Hyundai Motor Group and the Gwangju city government to build a new production facility there, which will mark the first auto plant in South Korea in 23 years.

Many, however, believe the president may face a huge plunge in his approval rating down the road following the arrest of his confidant and key election campaign organizer Kim Kyoung-soo, who is also the incumbent governor of South Gyeongsang Province.

Kim was put in detention after a Seoul district court found him guilty of colluding in an illicit cyber operation to manipulate public opinions in favor of the then main opposition Democratic Party and its presidential candidate Moon in the lead-up to the 2017 presidential election.

The only relief for Moon may be that most local pollsters will likely skip their weekly surveys next week when the nation will celebrate a three-day holiday around the Lunar New Year's Day, which falls on Tuesday this year.

The ruling Democratic Party's own approval rating gained 2 percentage points to 39 percent, while that of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party also advanced 3 percentage points to 21 percent.

The approval ratings of the minor opposition Justice Party and the Bareunmirae Party came to 9 percent and 6 percent, respectively, both losing 1 percentage point from the previous week.

The approval rating of the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace remained unchanged at 1 percent. (Yonhap)