Moon’s approval rating recovers to 42%

Posted on : 2021-05-28 16:48 KST Modified on : 2021-05-28 16:48 KST
This is the first time Moon has registered a rating over 40% in seven weeks since April
South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during a luncheon Wednesday with leaders of the five main political parties at the Blue House. (provided by the Blue House)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during a luncheon Wednesday with leaders of the five main political parties at the Blue House. (provided by the Blue House)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s approval rating has bounced back above 40%. This is the first time Moon has registered a rating over 40% in seven weeks since the first week of April.

A National Barometer Survey (NBS) was carried out from Monday to Wednesday with 1,008 adult South Koreans nationwide by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research International and Hankook Research. The survey had a 95% confidence level with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

The results showed 42% of respondents assigning a positive rating for Moon’s governance performance, a rise of six percentage points from the week before. Negative ratings were given by 51% of respondents, down by three percentage points from the week before.

The four organizations that carried out the survey cited the recent South Korea-US summit as a factor in the approval rating turnaround.

Fifty-five percent of respondents expressed a positive view of the outcome of Moon’s visit to the US last week, far outnumbering the 34% who rated it negatively. But while 27% of respondents predicted “positive changes” in North Korea-US relations going forward, a much higher 68% predicted there would be “no major changes.”

With the next presidential election scheduled for March 2022, respondents fell into two roughly equal camps, with 45% expressing that they should vote for the ruling Democratic Party candidate in the interest of “stable government management,” and 43% supporting a vote for the opposition candidate to “hold the administration accountable for its governance performance.”

Political party support ratings stood at 30% for the Democratic Party, 26% for the People Power Party (PPP), and 5% each for the Justice Party and People Party. Another 29% of respondents said they were reserving their decision.

Support for the Democratic Party was down by one percentage point, while support for the PPP was up by three percentage points.

Two main contenders led the pack in ratings for suitability as a presidential candidate: Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung with 26% and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl with 22%. Former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yon registered 10% support, the same as the week before.

Among respondents identifying as progressive, 33% supported Lee Jae-myung, 14% backed Lee Nak-yon and 3% backed former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun.

Among those identifying as conservative, 25% supported Yoon, 9% supported independent Hong Joon-pyo and 8% backed People Party leader Ahn Cheol-soo.

When respondents were asked about their attitudes toward cryptocurrency, 70% agreed that it was “speculation without substance,” while 20% called it an “investment in future value.”

When asked about their own experience investing in cryptocurrency, two out of 10 respondents reported some experience. Nine percent said they were currently investing, while 11% said they had invested in the past but were not investing anymore.

By Kim Mi-na, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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