President Lee Jae Myung's Approval Rating Rises Slightly in New Poll

SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating rose slightly this week after hitting a record low, a poll showed Friday.

In a survey conducted by Gallup Korea from Tuesday through Thursday on 1,004 people aged 18 and older, 45 percent positively assessed Lee's management of state affairs, up 1 percentage point from a record low of 44 percent in the previous survey released last week.

Lee's disapproval rating also stood at 45 percent, while 11 percent said they were undecided.

The pollster did not provide a reason for the increase in his approval rating, though diplomacy was the most frequently cited reason for the positive evaluation at 19 percent, followed by the economy and people's livelihoods at 11 percent, and overall performance and communication at 7 percent each.

Among those who disapproved of his performance, 28 percent pointed to his real estate policies, followed by concerns over the economy and people's livelihoods at 12 percent and defense, security and North Korea-related policies at 7 percent.

The pollster said the increase in the number of respondents citing defense appeared to stem from the government's recent proposal to integrate the three military academies of the armed services into a single institution, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump's recent remarks that North Korea has 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons.

Support for the ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition People Power Party remained unchanged from the previous week at 41 percent and 25 percent, respectively.

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