Public disapproval rating of Moon soars to record high 59.1 percent
South Korean President Moon Jae-in joins the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology's meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Dec. 21. Yonhap
President Moon Jae-in saw his public disapproval rating rise further to hit a record high 59.1 percent this week, an opinion poll showed Thursday.
In the Realmeter survey conducted on 1,505 voters nationwide for three days through Wednesday, 37.4 percent of the respondents gave a positive assessment of his presidency, down 2.1 percentage points from the previous figure last week.
The latest reading marks the fourth consecutive week Moon's approval rating has stayed below 40 percent.
Meanwhile, his disapproval rating rose 1.4 percentage points to hit 59.1 percent, the highest negative reception the president has had since taking office in May 2017.
Meanwhile, the support rating for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) came in at 33.6 percent, further expanding the conservative party's opinion poll lead over the ruling Democratic Party (DP), which recorded a 30 percent approval rating.
Compared with the previous poll last week, the approval ratings for the PPP and the DP are up 2 percentage points and down 0.6 percentage point, respectively.
Approval ratings for the liberal Open Democratic Party, the minor opposition People's Party and the progressive minor Justice Party were 6.2, 6.1 and 4.5 percent, respectively.
The survey, commissioned by local broadcaster TBS, has a confidence level of 95 percent with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. (Yonhap)