Moon's job approval rating dips to record low: poll

SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in's job approval rating again dropped last week, falling to the lowest level since Moon took office last year, a poll showed Monday.

In a survey conducted by Realmeter last week, Moon's job approval rating came to 52 percent, down 1.7 percentage points from a week earlier.

The weekly survey was conducted Monday through Friday on 2,505 adults throughout the country.

The latest reading is the lowest since Moon took office in May 2017. It also marks the eighth consecutive week of drop.

The local pollster did not offer any specific reasons for the decline but noted Moon's approval rating dipped to the record low of 50.9 percent Thursday when the statistics office reported that the income gap between the rich and the poor has widened in the three months ended Sept. 30.

Worsening economic conditions have often been blamed for recent declines in Moon's job approval ratings.

The ruling Democratic Party also suffered a setback with its own job approval rating shedding 1.3 percentage points to 39.2 percent, also the lowest since Moon's inauguration, according to Realmeter.

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party's approval rating rose for a fourth consecutive week, gaining 1.2 percentage points to 22.9 percent.

The progressive Justice Party saw its rating slip 0.6 percentage point to 8.8 percent, while that of the splinter Bareunmirae Party inched up 0.2 percentage point to 6.0 percent.

The minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace's rating lost 0.2 point to 2.2 percent.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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