SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating rose to 41.1%, breaking through the 40% threshold for the first time since June 2022, a poll iindicated on Monday.

According to the Realmeter study, the positive evaluation of Yoon's performance increased 2.7 percentage points from the prior week, while the negative evaluation decreased 2 percentage points to 56.8%.

Yoon's approval rating surpassed 40% for the first time in 24 weeks, reports said. The percentage had remained in the low 30% level since peaking at 44.4% in the fifth week of June until late November.

According to Bae Cheol-ho, a senior analyst at Realmeter, the gain can be attributed in part to newly announced reform initiatives in the labour, pension, and education sectors as well as criticism of the previous Moon Jae-in administration's health care policy.

The poll also revealed that Yoon's People Power Party saw an increase in support among older voters and residents of places like Busan, Daegu, and the South and North Gyeongsang provinces, pushing its positive rating to more than 40% for the first time in 23 weeks.

The People Power Party received 41.4% of the vote, up 2.7 percentage points from the previous week, while the Democratic Party (DP), the largest opposition party, received 43.7% of the vote, down 1.5 percentage points.

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