Yoon's approval rating inches down to 38 pct: Yonhap survey

▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol addresses a meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on Aug. 8, 2023. (Yonhap)

Yoon-public survey

Yoon's approval rating inches down to 38 pct: Yonhap survey

SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating has inched down to 38 percent, a survey that Yonhap News Agency conducted jointly with Yonhap News TV showed Wednesday.

The survey, commissioned by the two news outlets, was conducted by Metrix on 1,000 people aged 18 and older on Saturday and Sunday to gauge public sentiment.

According to the poll, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance was 38 percent, down 0.4 percentage point from the previous survey conducted a month ago, while the negative assessment came to 52.3 percent, also down 0.7 percentage point.

The negative assessment of Yoon has continued a downward trend since the survey was first conducted in May, when the figure stood at 60 percent. The number dropped to 58.5 percent in June and 53 percent in July.

Consistent with the previous surveys, the most cited factors by those approving of Yoon's performance were diplomacy and national security at 42.9 percent.

The economy and people's livelihoods, on the other hand, were the most cited factors by those disapproving at 32.6 percent, up 10.1 percentage points from the previous month.

It was the first time that the economy and people's livelihoods were the most cited factors, outpacing diplomacy and national security.

The poll also indicated the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) would run neck and neck in next year's elections.

A total of 31.3 percent of the respondents said they would vote for candidates from the PPP if the elections were held tomorrow, while 27.4 percent opted for candidates from the DP.

The poll showed 2.7 percent of the respondents would pick candidates from the minor opposition Justice Party, while 17.8 percent said they had no preference, marking a 6.3 percentage-point drop from the previous survey.

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

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