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Yoon's approval rating down to 11%: Gallup Korea

By Son Ji-hyoung

Published : Dec. 13, 2024 - 14:59

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A TV screen shows President Yoon Suk Yeol delivering a prerecorded speech to the nation on Thursday. (Yonhap) A TV screen shows President Yoon Suk Yeol delivering a prerecorded speech to the nation on Thursday. (Yonhap)

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating has fallen to just 11 percent, hitting his lowest point again in the aftermath of his martial law declaration on Dec. 3, the most recent poll result showed Friday.

Previous polls showed that Yoon's approval rating during the poll between Dec. 3 and Dec. 5 stood at 16 percent, while the figure has been on a downward trend over the week, to 13 percent for the Dec. 4-5 period and 11 percent for the Dec. 6-7 period.

In the meanwhile, 85 percent of respondents expressed disapproval of Yoon, according to the poll of 1,002 people by Gallup Korea conducted from Tuesday to Thursday. About half of them cited Yoon's short-lived martial law imposition as the main reason behind their show of disapproval.

Yoon's already low popularity dipped 8 percentage points over the past two weeks, as the president faces the threat of impeachment, with the National Assembly set for a second vote on his impeachment on Saturday.

In South Korea's modern history, former conservative President Park Geun-hye was the only head of state impeached and removed from office.

Following Park's apology to the public in October 2016 over her massive corruption scandal, her approval rating, according to Gallup Korea, dropped 8 percentage points to 17 percent. The figure remained at 5 percent or under in the next six weeks until her impeachment motion passed the parliament and suspended her from her post effective immediately in December 2016.

"The move to impeach (Yoon) is proceeding much faster than it was eight years ago," read a note by Gallup Korea.

The same poll also suggested that 75 percent of respondents supported Yoon's impeachment while 21 percent were against it. Additionally, 71 percent agreed that Yoon's martial law declaration should be deemed insurrection, while 23 percent did not agree.