Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung has surpassed Democratic Party(DP) Rep. Lee Nak-yon for the first time in a popularity poll of South Korea's prospective presidential candidates.

According to a Gallup Korea survey of one-thousand-one adults nationwide from Tuesday to Thursday, 19 percent of respondents selected the Gyeonggi governor as their favorite presidential hopeful, up six percentage points from the previous month.

Seventeen percent named the ruling party lawmaker as their pick, down seven percentage points on-month and ending the former prime minister's seven-month streak in the top spot.

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl ranked third with nine percent of support, followed by former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo and independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo with three and two percent of support, respectively.

Meanwhile, President Moon Jae-in's approval rating dipped below 40 percent for the first time since he took office in May 2017, with 39 percent supporting the president, against 53 percent who oppose.

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