Seoul: President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has experienced a slight decline, now standing at 66 percent, according to the latest results from a biweekly poll released on Thursday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the National Barometer Survey (NBS) conducted from Monday to Wednesday revealed a 1 percentage point drop in the positive assessment of President Lee's performance from the previous poll, which took place two weeks ago. Concurrently, the negative assessment of Lee's performance increased by 1 percentage point, reaching 24 percent.

President Lee's approval rating had previously maintained a record high of 69 percent across three consecutive NBS polls from late March until late April. However, it saw a reduction to 67 percent earlier this month, followed by a further decline to 66 percent in the most recent poll.

The survey also highlighted that the ruling Democratic Party (DP) remains ahead of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) by a 25 percentage point margin in terms of approval ratings. Despite this lead, the gap between the parties has narrowed since the last survey, with under two weeks remaining until the June 3 local elections. Support for the DP decreased by 1 percentage point to 45 percent, whereas the PPP's approval rating increased by 2 percentage points to 20 percent.

Regarding the forthcoming local elections, 52 percent of respondents expressed that voters should support the ruling party to ensure stability, while 31 percent believed the opposition should be backed to provide a check on the government.

The survey was conducted by polling organizations Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research, involving 1,001 individuals aged 18 and older. The poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.