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A man reads a copy of the Chosun Ilbo on a street in Gwanghwamun.
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Fifty-two percent of Koreans approve of President Lee Myung-bak's performance, a special poll conducted on Sunday by Gallup Korea for the Chosun Ilbo on this newspaper¡¯s 88th anniversary suggests. And an overwhelming 79.3 percent of respondents expect Lee to do better in future.
The telephone poll was conducted among 1,022 people, aged 19 and older. The poll has a 3.1 percentage-point margin of error at a 95 percent confidence level. The sample was selected randomly in proportion to regional populations. The response rate was 17.5 percent.
A majority of respondents (52 percent) approved of Lee's performance since his inauguration, as against 29 percent who disapproved. This is a relatively low approval rating for a just-inaugurated government.
By age, less than half of those in their 20s (46 percent) and 30s (41.1 percent) approved of Lee¡¯s performance, while a majority of those in their 40s (53.6 percent) and 50s and older (62.3 percent) supported him.
By region, the greatest number of approving respondents was on Lee¡¯s home turf in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, with 65.9 percent, followed by those in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province (54.1 percent), Busan and South Gyeongsang (51 percent), and Daejeon and Chungcheong provinces (50 percent). Lee¡¯s approval ratings in Seoul and Gwangju and Jeolla provinces were less than 50 percent -- in Seoul at 49.5 percent, and in Gwangju and Jeolla provinces at 40.1 percent.
The poll confirms speculation that Lee's selection of some controversial Cabinet nominees had the most negative effect on his approval ratings. To the question "How did your impression of President Lee change after his selection of Cabinet nominees?" 45.2 percent of respondents were negative, saying either ¡°a little worse¡± (29.9 percent) or "very bad" (15.3 percent). By contrast, a mere 20.3 percent were favorably impressed -- "very good" (4.5 percent) and "a little better" (15.7 percent). Some 23.8 percent said their impression did not change, and 10.7 percent had no response.
To the question which party they will vote for in the general election? 52.9 percent said the Grand National Party, followed by the United Democratic Party (15 percent), the Democratic Labor Party (4.7 percent), the Creative Korea Party (1.8 percent), and the Liberty Forward Party (1.2 percent). Some 2.7 percent of respondents supported independents, with 21.6 percent in the "don't know/no response" category.
In a similar Gallup poll on Feb. 4, the GNP enjoyed a 53 percent approval rating, almost identical to Sunday's. The UDP's approval rating of 15 percent was 1.9 percentage points higher than 13.1 percent, the combined rating of the UDP's predecessor, the United New Democratic Party, and the Democratic Party before their merger. The approval rating of the LFP led by Lee Hoi-chang, Lee¡¯s failed rightwing challenger, fell sharply from 6.6 percent in the February poll to 1.2 percent.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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