South Korean President's approval rating rises to 37%: Survey

Seoul, Nov 8 (IANS) South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating increased to 37 per cent from a month ago, a new survey revealed on Wednesday.

The survey conducted jointly by Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV said the positive assessment of Yoon's performance was 37 per cent, compared with 34.2 per cent from the previous poll conducted a month ago, while the negative assessment was at 57 per cent, compared with 58.4 per cent a month ago.

The polling results starting from this month will round off to the nearest whole number due to a change in polling survey standards.

The survey once again identified defence and diplomacy as the most frequently cited factors in the positive assessment of Yoon's performance.

For the negative assessment, the economy and the public's livelihoods, as well as communication, were the most frequently cited factors, the survey showed.

In terms of age demographics, the poll showed that the President's positive assessment increased across all age brackets, notably among those in their 30s, increasing from 18.5 per cent in the previous poll to 23 per cent.

Regionally, the positive assessment of respondents living in the central cities of Daejeon and Sejong increased the most, climbing from 32.7 per cent to 45 pe rcent.

In contrast, the negative assessment of respondents living in Daegu and the surrounding North Gyeonsang Province, considered the conservative stronghold, increased the most, the survey showed.

The survey also indicated a close race between the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) for the April 2024 general elections.

Support for the PPP inched up by 0.4 percentage points from the previous survey, and support for the DP also increased by 0.7 percentage points, indicating almost no change.

The survey showed that 18 per cent had no preference for candidates.

Regarding the government's move to raise the annual enrollment quota at medical schools, 76 per cent of the respondents supported the envisioned increase, while only 18 per cent of respondents were against.