Yoon's approval inches down to 35.5%
President Yoon Suk Yeol / Yonhap
President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating inched down to 35.5 percent, partly due to controversial remarks made by newly-appointed minister nominees in the past, according to a poll Monday.
In the survey of 2,505 eligible voters conducted by Realmeter from Monday to Friday last week, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance decreased by 1.2 percentage points from the previous week, while disapproval of Yoon's performance increased by 1.9 percentage points to 61.8 percent.
His approval rating had steadily fluctuated in the mid-30 percent level since the second week of August.
"President Yoon's approval rating saw a decline in the latter part of the week, partly due to the renewed attention on the past actions and statements of ministerial nominees," Bae Cheol-ho, a senior analyst at Realmeter, said.
On Wednesday, Yoon nominated Rep. Shin Won-sik of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) to replace Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, while Yoo In-chon, special presidential adviser for culture and sports, was named the new culture minister, and Kim Haeng, a former PPP interim leadership member, was tapped for the new minister of gender equality and family.
Among the nominees, Shin came under the spotlight for making several harsh remarks against former President Moon Jae-in in the past by criticizing his push to declare an end to the Korean War and North Korea-friendly policies.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. (Yonhap)