Lee approval slides to 35.2% as opposition gains

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell for the second consecutive week to 35.2 percent, a poll showed Monday, amid controversies over judicial independence and last month's mine blast near the border.

In the poll conducted on 1,504 adults nationwide from Tuesday to Thursday by Realmeter, positive assessments of Lee's job performance fell by 2.2 percentage points from the previous week.

Negative assessments rose 1.6 percentage points to 61.4 percent.

“Controversies surrounding judicial independence involving Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, disputes between rival parties over mine explosions in the demilitarized zone (DMZ), as well as rising rental and housing prices in the Seoul metropolitan area, all came under the spotlight during parliamentary audits, leading to the decline in approval ratings,” the pollster said.

In a separate survey of 1,004 adults conducted last Wednesday and Thursday, support for the ruling Democratic Party fell 7 percentage points to 35.5 percent, while that of the main opposition People Power Party rose 2.9 percentage points to 41.3 percent.

The survey on the president had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, while the one on political parties had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Both polls were commissioned by the Asia Business Daily.

Yonhap