Moon's disapproval reaches highest point: Realmeter

President Moon Jae-in's public disapproval rating hit an all-time high, a poll showed Monday, as the ruling bloc continues to struggle with fallout from its recent crushing defeat in local by-elections.

In the five-day Realmeter survey conducted through last Friday, Moon's disapproval rating hit 63 percent, up 1.5 percentage points from a week earlier. The latest poll canvassed 2,532 people, aged 18 or older, nationwide.

This marks Moon's highest disapproval rating since he took office in May 2017.

Moon's approval rating slid 0.9 percentage point to 33.8 percent. The figure, however, represents a 0.4 percentage-point increase from a record low of 33.4 percent in the first week of April.

The latest survey on Moon's job competency comes as the ruling Democratic Party (DP) scrambles to find its footing following its crushing defeat in the April 7 Seoul and Busan mayor by-elections.

According to data compiled by exit pollsters, 75 percent of male voters aged 20-29 cast their ballots for the candidates of the conservative main opposition People Power Party in the elections. Many women in their 20s, who had strongly supported the DP, also turned their back on the party.

They appear to have vented pent-up anger over what they view as the ruling bloc's "policy incompetence, arrogance and hypocrisy," according to political analysts.

In terms of age, discontent among those in their 20s soared 7.9 percentage points to 71.1 percent in the Realmeter survey.

Disapproval among those in their 60s and 70s also remained high, at 71.8 percent and 68.8 percent, respectively.

In terms of region, Gangwon Province logged the highest rate in disapproval at 73.3 percent. The rate of disapproval in Seoul also remained relatively high, at 64.6 percent.

The latest poll, commissioned by cable news network YTN, has a confidence level of 95 percent, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points. (Yonhap)