Lee's approval rating edges down to 53.4%: poll

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a policy briefing by the Ministry of Justice at the government complex in Seoul, Dec. 19. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating slightly fell to 53.4 percent last week, a survey showed Monday, amid mixed public responses over the livestreaming of his policy briefings from government ministries.

The survey by Realmeter showed the positive assessment of Lee's overall performance dropped 0.9 percentage point from the previous week to 53.4 percent, while the negative evaluation rose 0.7 percentage point to 42.2 percent.

Realmeter said respondents viewed the live broadcasts of Lee's policy briefings favorably but noted his public rebuke of Lee Hak-jae, head of the Incheon International Airport appointed under previous President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration, along with public concerns over Coupang's personal data breach and the weak Korean won, weighed on the rating.

The survey, commissioned by a local news outlet, was conducted on 2,521 adults from Monday to Friday last week and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, with a confidence level of 95 percent.

In a separate survey conducted by the same pollster on 1,007 individuals aged 18 and over Thursday and Friday, the approval rating for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea fell 1.7 percentage points to 44.1 percent.

Support for the People Power Party also gained 2.6 percentage points to 37.2 percent.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, with a confidence rate of 95 percent.