Lee's approval rating falls for 3rd week to 55%

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a work report from the Overseas Korean Agency and the unification ministry at the Government Complex Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell for the third consecutive week to 55 percent, amid negative public sentiment over a sluggish economy, a poll showed Friday.

The survey by Gallup Korea, conducted Tuesday through Thursday on 1,001 respondents aged 18 and over, showed that the positive assessment of Lee's overall performance edged down 1 percentage point from the previous week.

The negative assessment rose by 2 percentage points to 36 percent, while 9 percent said they were undecided.

Lee's approval rating fell from 62 percent to 56 percent in the second week of December and dipped further in the latest survey.

Lee's communication efforts, including his livestreamed policy briefings, were cited mostly frequently as reasons for positive evaluations, at 18 percent, followed by 15 percent who pointed to his diplomacy.

Since last week, Lee has been receiving a series of annual policy briefings by ministries and public institutions for the first time under his administration. The briefings have been broadcast live, except for those involving sensitive national security issues.

Negative assessments were mostly driven by views critical of his performance on the economy and livelihood matters.

The approval rating for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea came to 40 percent, while that of the main opposition People Power Party stood at 26 percent.

The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.