Seoul: President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating rose to 60 percent this week amid positive public sentiment over his diplomacy, a poll showed Friday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the survey by Gallup Korea, conducted Tuesday through Thursday on 1,000 respondents aged 18 and over, revealed that the positive assessment of Lee's overall performance climbed 5 percentage points from the previous poll in mid-December. Thirty-three percent of those surveyed expressed a negative view, a decrease from the previous survey's 36 percent, while 7 percent withheld their evaluation.
Diplomacy emerged as the leading factor for the positive assessments, with 30 percent of respondents citing it as the primary reason. This was followed by 14 percent who pointed to Lee's leadership in handling the economy and livelihood issues. Conversely, negative assessments were largely driven by criticisms of his performance on economic and livelihood matters.
The pollster noted that Lee's recent state visit to China seems to have brought his diplomatic efforts back into the spotlight, contributing to the surge in positive evaluations. During the four-day visit, Lee engaged in summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, focusing on enhancing economic ties and coordinating peace efforts regarding North Korea. The discussions also tackled sensitive topics, such as China's construction of steel structures in contested areas of the Yellow Sea, which Seoul regards as potential groundwork for territorial claims.
The approval rating for the ruling Democratic Party was reported at 45 percent, with the main opposition People Power Party receiving 26 percent. The survey carried a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.