President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval rating has fallen below 30 percent for the first time in nine months.

In a Gallup Korea survey of one-thousand adults nationwide between Tuesday and Thursday, only 29 percent of respondents positively assessed the president's handling of state affairs, down two percentage points from a week earlier. The disapproval rating remained unchanged at 63 percent. 

This marks the first time that the approval rating has fallen below the 30-percent mark since the second week of April last year, when it stood at 27 percent. Yoon's lowest rating, 24 percent, was recorded in the first week of August 2022, the year he assumed office.

Among those who expressed dissatisfaction with Yoon's management of state affairs, 19 percent cited concerns about the economy, prices, and people's livelihood, while eleven percent pointed to his perceived lack of communication. Other contributing factors included unilateral decision-making, diplomatic concerns, and allegations surrounding First Lady Kim Keon-hee. 

With the general elections approaching in April, the approval rating for the ruling People Power Party(PPP) dropped by two percentage points to 34 percent, while the main opposition Democratic Party's approval rating remained unchanged at 35 percent.

The survey had a confidence level of 95 percent with a margin of error of plus or minus three-point-one percentage points.