Yoon's approval rating at 34.2% with parliamentary elections 6 months away

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating remains almost unchanged at 34.2 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 32.6 percent and 31.3 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 Saturday and Sunday.

According to the poll, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance was 34.2 percent, a 0.1 percentage-point gain from the previous survey conducted a month ago, while the negative assessment inched up 0.4 percentage point to 58.4 percent.

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 declined across all age brackets, notably among those in their 30s, dropping from 22.9 percent in the previous poll to 18.5 percent.

Regionally, the positive assessment of respondents living in Gangwon and Jeju, and the southern city of Gwangju and surrounding Jeolla region, increased the most, climbing 11.4 and 8.2 percentage points, respectively.

In contrast, the negative assessment of respondents living in the southern cities of Busan and Ulsan increased the most, jumping 10.3 percentage points, the survey showed.

The poll also indicated a close race between the People Power Party and the Democratic Party in April's general elections, which are only six months away.

Support for the People Power Party increased by 2.1 percentage points from the previous survey, while support for the Democratic Party went up by 1.4 percentage points.

The survey showed that 3.8 percent of respondents would choose candidates from the minor opposition Justice Party, while 18.2 percent had no preference for candidates, representing a 0.2 percentage-point increase from the previous survey.

The survey also showed that 53.3 percent of respondents would pick a different candidate if their lawmaker in the constituency were to again run in next year's elections.

Regarding the suspected manipulation of public opinion on Daum, the nation's No. 2 online portal, on its Asian Games cheering websites, opinions were divided over measures to prevent the distortion and manipulation of public opinion.

While 44.2 percent of respondents said each portal operator should regulate its own website, 43 percent of respondents said strong countermeasures should be enforced by the government.

The controversy erupted after the ratio of cheering clicks for the Chinese team reached 91 percent, compared with a mere 9 percent for the South Korean team, on the Seoul-based portal site during the Asian Games match in Hangzhou, China.

The results had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. (Yonhap)