Published : Aug. 18, 2017 - 11:13
President Moon Jae-in's approval rating remained unchanged from a week earlier this week, a poll showed Friday, despite a series of events that may have negatively affected the popularity of the new president and his administration.
In a survey conducted by Gallup Korea, 78 percent of 1,006 respondents said they approved of the president's management of state affairs.
The reading marked the second highest in the country's history for a president after the first 100 days in office, according to Gallup Korea.
The weekly survey was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday. It had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, with a confidence level of 95 percent.
President Moon Jae-in (L) speaks at a press conference held at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Aug. 17, 2017, marking his first 100 days in office. (Yonhap)
The latest reading comes amid a public health scare here over contaminated chicken eggs, for which the government has been partly blamed due to its failure to properly screen such products.
The local pollster noted the resignation of Moon's recently appointed head of the Science, Technology and Innovation Office, Park Ky-young, could have disadvantaged the new president who marked his first 100 days in office on Thursday.
His new welfare and health care programs may have helped keep his approval rating intact, according to Gallup Korea.
When asked which one of Moon's new policies they approved of the most, 19 percent of 788 respondents who offered answers cited his efforts to help the poor and expand welfare benefits while another 19 percent pointed to his efforts to communicate with the people.
Out of all 1,006 respondents, 15 percent said they did not approve of the president's management of state affairs, up 1 percentage point from a week earlier.
The ruling Democratic Party's approval rating shed 3 percentage points over the cited period to 47 percent, while that of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party remained unchanged at 11 percent.
The splinter conservative Bareun Party scored 7 percent, up 1 percentage point from a week earlier, with the minor progressive Justice Party scoring 5 percent for a second consecutive week.
The liberal People's Party scored 4 percent, unchanged from a week earlier and marking the lowest among all five major political parties here. (Yonhap)