President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating rose for the second consecutive week to 59.7 percent, a survey showed Monday.
According to the survey by Realmeter and commissioned by a local news outlet, the positive assessment of Lee's performance rose 0.4 percentage point from the previous week, while the negative assessment rose 0.1 percentage point to 33.6 percentage points.
Realmeter assessed that Lee's approval rating was backed by a series of livelihood-related measures, including his first supplementary budget speech, tightened loan curbs and bold personnel appointments.
The pollster cited controversies surrounding Prime Minister nominee Kim Min-seok and Lee's absence from the NATO summit as factors that limited a sharper rise.
The survey was conducted on 2,511 adults from Monday to Friday last week and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, with a confidence rate of 95 percent.
In a separate survey conducted by the same pollster on 1,000 individuals aged 18 and over on Thursday and Friday, the approval rating for the ruling Democratic Party (DP) rose to 50.6 percent, up 2.2 percentage points from the previous week.
It marks the first time the DP's support surpassed the 50 percent mark since Lee took office on June 4.
Support for the main opposition People Power Party fell 1.4 percentage points to 30 percent, widening the gap between the two parties to 20.6 percentage points.
The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, with a confidence rate of 95 percent. (Yonhap)
