Yoon Suk Yeol's popularity rises ahead of holiday in latest poll

Politics

Published: 12 Feb. 2024, 17:56

Yoon Suk Yeol's popularity rises ahead of holiday in latest poll

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during an interview with public broadcaster KBS at the presidential office in Seoul on Feb. 4. The interview was aired on Feb. 7, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Yoon Suk Yeol's popularity rose slightly, according to a poll conducted right before the Lunar New Year holiday.

A poll conducted by Realmeter between Feb. 5 and 8 showed Yoon’s approval rating at 39.2 percent, which was 1.9 percentage points higher than the poll conducted at the end of January.

The poll surveyed 2,011 people aged 18 or over in the country.

Respondents who said they disapproved of the president dropped 1.7 percentage points since the last poll, coming in at 57.7 percent, according to Realmeter.

Yoon’s approval rating had been on a downward trend since early February.

His approval reached 39.9 percent on Feb. 6, then dropped to 39.4 percent on Feb. 7 and again to 38.5 percent on Feb. 8.

Yoon’s prerecorded interview with public broadcaster KBS aired on Feb. 7 evening, in which he spoke on a number of international issues including North Korean threats and relations with the United States, Japan and China.

He also addressed the first lady’s luxury handbag scandal in the interview, stating that it was regrettable, though he did not apologize for it.

Yoon has been facing mounting pressure to reveal his stance on the allegations that first lady Kim Keon Hee received a luxury handbag from a pastor in 2022.

In the latest poll by Realmeter, his approval rating from those surveyed in Daejeon, Sejong and Chungcheong rose by 5.3 percentage points. Of those surveyed in Incheon and Gyeonggi, the approval rating rose by 4.5 percentage points.

Of those surveyed in Seoul, however, the rating dropped by 1 percentage point.

By age group, the approval rating rose by 6.9 percentage points among those in their 70s; by 5.9 percentage points among those in their 20s; and by 3.2 percentage points among those in their 60s.

The approval rating dropped by 2.4 percentage points among those in their 50s.

Realmeter said part of the boost in the approval appeared to have been driven by the Yoon administration’s recent policy announcement on expanding after-school care programs for the children of working parents, and the quota expansion for medical school admissions.

The survey was conducted using automated response methods, with the response rate at 3.6 percent. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points with a 95 percent confidence level.

In another poll conducted on party approval ratings between Feb. 7 and 8, the People Power Party (PPP) had 40.9 percent support and the Democratic Party (DP) 41.8 percent.

Compared to a previous poll conducted between Feb. 1 and 2, the approval rating of the PPP rose by 1.1 percentage points and the DP's dropped by 3.4 percentage points.

BY JEONG HYE-JEONG, ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]