Seoul: President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has decreased to 37 percent, marking a new low for the fourth consecutive week since his inauguration in June last year, according to a poll released on Friday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the survey was conducted by Gallup Korea from Tuesday through Thursday and included responses from 1,002 individuals aged 18 and older. The findings indicate a 1 percentage point decline in the positive assessment of Lee's performance from the previous week.

The disapproval rating for President Lee has surged by 5 percentage points to 56 percent, surpassing his approval rating by 19 percentage points, and reaching its highest level since he took office. Among those who negatively evaluated his performance, 20 percent cited his real estate policies as the primary reason, followed by concerns over personnel appointments at 16 percent, and economic and livelihood issues at 9 percent.

The pollster highlighted that real estate concerns have consistently been the leading cause for negative assessments since late July, with personnel appointments emerging as a significant factor following recent Cabinet nominations.

The nominations for justice minister and gender equality minister have sparked controversy, with both nominees facing scrutiny over their qualifications and related allegations. Rep. Yong Hye-in, nominated as gender equality minister, resigned earlier this week. Meanwhile, Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won attended a parliamentary confirmation hearing on Tuesday amidst accusations of illegally lobbying drug authorities to expedite approval for a COVID-19 treatment in 2021.

Support for the ruling Democratic Party increased by 2 percentage points to 40 percent, while the main opposition People Power Party saw a decrease of 2 percentage points, falling to 27 percent. The survey's margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.