Sixty-one percent of South Koreans approve of President Lee Jae Myung’s management of state affairs, a recent survey showed Thursday.

In a National Barometer Survey conducted by Embrain Public, KStat Research, Korea Research and Hankook Research from Monday to Thursday, the positive assessment of Lee's performance rose by two percentage points from a poll conducted two weeks earlier.

Twenty-nine percent disapprove of his performance, down three percentage points from the previous survey.

Positive evaluations of the president were higher than negative evaluations in all regions and across all age groups, with Lee gaining support from voters aged 20 and under, in particular.

In terms of the government’s economic policies, 62 percent approve of support measures for the vulnerable and socially disadvantaged, while policies to support small merchants and small and medium-sized enterprises were positively assessed by 50 percent and job-related policies 46 percent.

In terms of housing and real estate policies, those with unfavorable views stood at 51 percent compared to favorable views at 36 percent.

When asked about South Korea’s future ties with China, 48 percent said Seoul should distance itself from Beijing in consideration of the security situation and the South Korea–U.S. alliance, while 46 percent said friendly ties should be maintained with China for the economy and national interest.

In the same survey, support for the ruling Democratic Party fell two percentage points to 39 percent while the main opposition People Power Party saw its approval rating increase three percentage points to 23 percent.

The survey, conducted on one-thousand-five people aged 18 and older, had a margin of error of plus or minus three-point-one percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.