President Moon Jae-in takes off a mask before making opening remarks during an interagency meeting on virus response at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters in Seoul on Sunday. (Yonhap)President Moon Jae-in's job approval rating has hit a new record low of 36.7 percent, the second consecutive week that it has stayed below 40 percent, a poll showed Monday.

In the five-day Realmeter survey through last Friday, 36.7 percent of respondents gave a positive assessment of Moon's leadership, down 0.7 percentage point from a week earlier.

The rating, in particular, dropped 4.2 percentage points in Seoul and 5.0 percentage points among those in their 20s.

Moon also lost support in his traditional power base. The rating dipped 4.2 percentage points among liberal-minded voters and 3.7 percentage points among people in their 40s.

The proportion of those who disapprove of Moon's job performance rose 0.8 percentage point to 58.2 percent.

Public approval for the ruling Democratic Party (DP) gained 1.1 percentage point to 30.8 percent and that of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) rose 0.3 percentage point to 31.6 percent, according to Realmeter.

It conducted the poll on 2,521 voters nationwide, and the margin of error is plus and minus 2 percentage points.

The results of the regular survey came after Moon carried out a partial Cabinet reshuffle to replace the ministers of land, interior, health and gender equality on Dec. 4.

A conflict between Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl remains unresolved, and COVID-19 infections have continued to spread across the country rapidly. The government is still struggling to stabilize the housing market. 

The DP passed a controversial revision bill last week on establishing the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) amid strong protests by the PPP. (Yonhap)

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