President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during the opening of a small business owners' convention at the KINTEX exhibition hall in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 31. Yonhap President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating slid to 19 percent, marking its lowest level since he took office in May 2022, a poll showed Friday.
The survey, conducted by the polling agency Gallup Korea, showed that the positive assessment of Yoon's performance fell 1 percentage point from the previous week, while his negative assessment reached an all-time high of 72 percent, up 2 percent from a week earlier. This marks the first time Yoon's approval ratings fell below the 20 percent mark in Gallup surveys. Yoon's handling of allegations surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee, the economy and a lack of communication were cited as reasons for the negative assessment.
The first lady has been accused of alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme, the receipt of a luxury bag and alleged interference in the candidate nominations of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) ahead of the April general elections. The polling agency said the release of an audio recording earlier this week reportedly between Yoon and Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed political broker, will likely be reflected in upcoming surveys. On Thursday, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) played a recording of what it said was a phone call in which Yoon told Myung that he had recommended the ruling party nominate now former lawmaker Kim Y.