President Lee's approval rating falls to 35.9%: poll

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating dropped to 35.9 percent last week, likely due to a significant political rift over legislation and market instability, according to a recent poll. The number of people who viewed his job performance positively decreased by one percentage point from the previous week, as reported by the poll conducted on 2,528 adults from last Monday to Friday.

The pollster, Realmeter, attributed the decrease in approval rating to the ongoing standoff between the ruling and main opposition parties over a bill demanding a special counsel investigation into allegations of fabricated indictments against the president and others. This bill was passed by the National Assembly on Friday, spearheaded by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).

Additionally, Realmeter linked the decline in approval to the sharp decrease in the KOSPI stock market index to under 5,000 points and other financial sector volatility. Meanwhile, support for the two largest parties stood at 36.5 percent for the DPK and 39.7 percent for the main opposition party.