Settings

ⓕ font-size

  • -2
  • -1
  • 0
  • +1
  • +2

Moon's approval rating edges up amid virus resurgence

  • Facebook share button
  • Twitter share button
  • Kakao share button
  • Mail share button
  • Link share button
President Moon Jae-in speaks during a virtual meeting with heads of local education offices at a high school in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
President Moon Jae-in speaks during a virtual meeting with heads of local education offices at a high school in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

By Kim Rahn

The approval ratings for President Moon Jae-in and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) have stopped falling and rebounded slightly, a Realmeter poll showed, Thursday.

The change could be a result of the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic here and the massive rally conservative religious groups held last weekend in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, which became a hotbed for the virus, the poll agency said.

According to the survey conducted on 1,506 people from Tuesday to Wednesday, Moon's job approval rating increased by 1.8 percentage points from the previous week to 45.1 percent.

The negative assessment declined by 0.3 percentage points to 52.3 percent.

The support rate for the DPK was 38.9 percent, up 4.1 percentage points, surpassing that of the main opposition United Future Party (UFP), at 37.1 percent. In the previous week's poll, the conservative UFP overtook the liberal DPK in the support ratings for the first time since October 2016, when a massive corruption scandal emerged involving former President Park Geun-hye from the conservative party.

Protesters pack the streets in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, Aug. 15, during an anti-government rally organized by Sarang Jeil Church. Pastor Jun Kwang-hoon from the church gives a speech on the podium. He tested positive for COVID-19 two days later. Yonhap
Protesters pack the streets in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, Aug. 15, during an anti-government rally organized by Sarang Jeil Church. Pastor Jun Kwang-hoon from the church gives a speech on the podium. He tested positive for COVID-19 two days later. Yonhap

"The government's COVID-19 response has had a positive influence on the approval ratings of Moon and the DPK," the polling agency said in a press release.

Earlier this year the Korean government's virus response became an exemplar of disease control across the world and led to the DPK's sweeping victory in April's general election. Moon's approval rating hovered over 70 percent in early May ― though it has since dropped steadily due to various factors including real estate policy failures.

"It seems the upward tendency of the UFP's support rate has faltered because of its alleged connection with the organizers of the Gwanghwamun rally," Realmeter said.

The anti-government rally was organized mainly by Sarang Jeil Church, a Presbyterian church led by pastor Jun Kwang-hoon, and the church has become the site of a new infection cluster. As Jun's influence in conservative civic and political circles has grown with support from far-right former and incumbent UFP members, the ruling bloc and some liberal activists say the UFP should also take responsibility for the recent spike of infections together with the church, while the UFP said it had nothing to do with Jun.


Kim Rahn rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr


X
CLOSE

Top 10 Stories

go top LETTER