Manila, (Samajweekly) South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval rating has increased to 38.4 per cent, a new survey revealed on Wednesday.
The survey by Yonhap News Agency conducted jointly with Yonhap News TV showed that the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) would win 29.5 per cent and 30.6 per cent of the vote, respectively, if the parliamentary elections set for next year were to take place tomorrow.
According to the poll, the positive assessment of Yoon’s performance was 38.4 per cent, a 2.1 percentage-point rise from the previous survey conducted a month ago, while the negative assessment came to 53 per cent.
Consistent with previous surveys, defence and diplomacy were the most frequently cited factors in both positive and negative assessments of Yoon’s performance.
Notably, education and culture showed the most significant increases in both assessments.
The poll also indicated the PPP and the DP would run neck and neck in next year’s elections at 29.5 per cent and 30.6 per cent, respectively.
Those who said they would vote for the PPP fell 1.7 percentage points from the previous survey, while those who would vote for the DP also dropped 2.5 percentage points.
But in terms of the current approval ratings, the PPP was ahead with 34.1 per cent against the DP’s 30.9 percent.
The DP experienced a 4.1 percentage-point fall in public support compared with the previous survey, while the PPP maintained its level of support.
The poll showed 3.3 per cent of the respondents would pick candidates from the minor opposition Justice Party, while 24.1 per cent had no preference for candidates, marking a 6.8 percentage-point increase from the previous survey.
In detail, 69.5 per cent of the respondents giving a positive assessment of Yoon’s performance said they would vote for PPP candidates.
In contrast, 52.1 per cent of the respondents giving a negative assessment of Yoon’s performance said they would pick DP candidates for parliamentary seats.
Opinions were divided regarding the need to create a new political third party for the improvement of politics, with 47.7 per cent in favor and 42.2 per cent against.
Regarding the government’s decision to exclude extremely difficult “killer” questions from the annual college entrance exam, opinions were divided, with 45.4 per cent in support and 43.7 per cent in opposition.
The state-administered College Scholastic Ability Test, known as Suneung in Korean, has faced criticism for including killer questions, which many say students without tutoring from private cram schools, known as “hagwons” in Korean, are unable to solve.
