Yoon's approval rating rises to 37%: Yonhap News survey

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating increased to 37 percent from a month ago, according to a survey conducted jointly by Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV on Wednesday.

The survey also showed that the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party would secure 33 percent and 32 percent of the vote, respectively, if the parliamentary elections scheduled for next April were held tomorrow.

Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV jointly commissioned the survey to gauge public sentiment. The survey was conducted by Metrix on 1,000 adults aged 18 and older on Saturday and Sunday.

According to the poll, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance was 37 percent, compared with 34.2 percent from the previous survey conducted a month ago, while the negative assessment was at 57 percent, compared with 58.4 percent a month ago.

The polling results starting from this month will round off to the nearest whole number due to a change in polling survey standards.

The survey once again identified defense and diplomacy as the most frequently cited factors in the positive assessment of Yoon's performance.

For the negative assessment, the economy and the public's livelihoods, as well as communication, were the most frequently cited factors, the survey showed.

In terms of age demographics, the poll showed that Yoon's positive assessment increased across all age brackets, notably among those in their 30s, increasing from 18.5 percent in the previous poll to 23 percent.

Regionally, the positive assessment of respondents living in the central cities of Daejeon and Sejong increased the most, climbing from 32.7 percent to 45 percent.

In contrast, the negative assessment of respondents living in Daegu and the surrounding North Gyeonsang Province, considered the conservative stronghold, increased the most, the survey showed.

The poll also indicated a close race between the PPP and the DP in April's general elections, which are less than six months away.

Support for the PPP inched up by 0.4 percentage points from the previous survey, and support for the DP also increased by 0.7 percentage points, indicating almost no change.

The survey showed that 18 percent had no preference for candidates.

Regarding the government's move to raise the annual enrollment quota at medical schools, 76 percent of the respondents supported the envisioned increase, while only 18 percent of respondents were against.

The results had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. (Yonhap)