President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hye-kyung wave to well-wishers at Ulaanbaatar's Chinggis Khaan International Airport on Saturday (local time) before departing for South Korea after a state visit to Mongolia. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hye-kyung wave to well-wishers at Ulaanbaatar's Chinggis Khaan International Airport on Saturday (local time) before departing for South Korea after a state visit to Mongolia. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating rose for a second consecutive week, according to a poll released Monday.

In a survey conducted by Realmeter on behalf of the Energy Economy Newspaper, 48.9 percent of respondents gave a positive assessment of Lee's job performance — up 1.9 percentage points from the previous week. The poll surveyed 2,515 people aged 18 and older nationwide from July 6 to 10.

The negative rating fell 1.5 percentage points from the prior survey to 47.7 percent, while 3.4 percent said they did not know.

Realmeter attributed the gains to tangible diplomatic and security achievements, including Lee's attendance at the NATO summit and a series of bilateral summits through which South Korea elevated its defense industry partnership with NATO and laid the groundwork for expanding arms exports.

A separate party approval survey conducted July 9 and 10 among 1,002 adults nationwide showed the Democratic Party of Korea at 44.8 percent and the People Power Party at 38.1 percent.

The Democratic Party rose 1.8 percentage points from the previous week, while the People Power Party fell 2.2 percentage points.

The Rebuilding Korea Party stood at 2.7 percent, the Reform Party at 3.7 percent and the Progressive Party at 0.6 percent, with 8.2 percent of respondents expressing no party preference.

Both surveys were conducted via automated response on mobile phones.

The presidential approval poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.0 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, with a response rate of 3.8 percent. The party approval poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the same confidence level, with a response rate of 3.3 percent. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.


sunpine@heraldcorp.com