Lee's approval rating rises for 1st time in 10 weeks to 34.8 pct: poll

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating increased for the first time in 10 weeks last week, according to a poll conducted by Realmeter. The positive assessment of his job performance rose by 1 percentage point to 34.8 percent in a survey of 2,507 adults nationwide conducted from last Monday to Friday. Negative assessments rose slightly to 63.4 percent.

This marked the first increase in Lee's approval rating since July 13, when it stood at 48.9 percent. The approval rating gradually increased throughout the week, peaking at 37.2 percent on Friday, the day Lee held a press conference to clarify key political issues. Initially, his approval rating declined due to controversy surrounding the qualifications of two ministerial nominees, Kim Seung-won and Yong Hye-in, who withdrew themselves from consideration.

However, Lee's stance on issues such as presidential term extension, cancellation of indictments, and troop deployment helped shift the approval rating upward. The largest increase in approval was among those in their 20s, with a 5.4 percentage-point rise to 24 percent, followed by those in their 60s (+2.9 percentage points to 38.3 percent) and 30s (+2.8 percentage points to 29.8 percent).

Support among those in their 40s and 50s decreased slightly. The poll had a margin of error of 2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.