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South Korean President Moon Jae-in gives his New Year’s press address at the Blue House on Jan. 7.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has an approval rating of 47%, a new poll shows, a gain of three points over the past three weeks.

According to a Gallup public opinion poll released on Jan. 10, 47% of the South Korean public approve of Moon’s governance, whereas 43% disapprove. The poll, which was administered to 1,000 adults around the country on Jan. 7-9, had a sample error of ±3.1 points and a reliability of 95%. Compared to a poll in the third week of December (Dec. 17-19), three weeks prior, Moon’s approval was up three percentage points and his disapproval down three points.

Just like last year, Moon begins 2020 with his job performance rating roughly divided between positive and negative assessments. His composite approval rating in Jan. 2019 stood at 47%, with disapproval at 44%.

The main reasons for positive assessment are that Moon has been doing a good job on foreign policy (12%), doing his best and working hard (9%), and expanding welfare (8%). Reasons for a negative assessment were that he hasn’t done enough to resolve economic and livelihood issues (34%), his pro-North Korean tendency and overemphasis on relations with North Korea (8%), and across-the-board shortcomings (7%).

Party approval ratings were as follows: the ruling Democratic Party had 40%, the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) 20%, the Justice Party 6%, and the Bareunmirae Party 3%. In short, the ruling party enjoys double the support of the main opposition party. Compared with a poll in the third week of December (Dec. 17-19), the Democratic Party’s approval rose three points, while the LKP’s fell three points. The New Conservative Party, established on Jan. 5, snagged a 3% approval rating in its first showing in the poll. Other parties, such as the Our Republic Party and the Party for Democracy and Peace, had less than 1% of support.

Respondents were also asked about Chung Sye-kyun, the nominee for Prime Minister whose confirmation hearings in the National Assembly were held on Jan. 7-8. 42% said his nomination was appropriate, 25% said it was inappropriate, and 33% reserved their judgment. In every age group, the percentage who support Chung’s nomination outnumbered opponents by at least 10 points. The gap between the two positions was especially high among respondents in their 40s, with 53% supporting the nomination versus 19% against it. Breaking respondents down by party affiliation and ideological orientation, Chung had more than 60% support among Democratic Party supporters and self-identified progressives. A high percentage of opposition to his nomination was evident among LKP supporters (56%) and self-identified conservatives (43%).

In the poll, 49% of respondents want the ruling party to win many seats to support the current administration, while 37% want opposition parties to win many seats to put a check on the current administration, giving the ruling party a 12-point advantage over the opposition. When respondents were divided by age group, support for the ruling party predominated among those in their 40s and below, while support for opposition parties was higher among those in their 60s and above. Those in their 50s were split between the two positions, with the ruling party and opposition parties both supported by 46% of respondents. A full account of the poll findings is posed on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

By Yi Ju-been, staff reporter

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