Lee's approval rating edges down for 2nd consecutive week: poll

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating edged down to 52 percent this week, a poll showed Friday, marking its second straight weekly decline.

In a survey conducted by Gallup Korea from Tuesday through Thursday, 52 percent of 1,003 respondents aged 18 and older positively assessed Lee's management of state affairs, down 1 percentage point from a week earlier.

The rating marks a consecutive weekly drop from 54 percent recorded in the poll released July 3.

Those who disapproved of Lee's handling of state affairs rose by 2 percentage points on-week to 37 percent.

Eleven percent of the respondents declined to answer.

About a fifth of the respondents cited diplomacy as the main reason for their positive assessment of Lee's performance, followed by 19 percent who pointed to the economy and people's livelihoods.

Economic concerns, including the continued weakness of the local currency and his real estate policy, were among the main reasons cited by those who viewed Lee unfavorably.

By region, support for Lee was the highest in the southwestern regions of Gwangju and Jeolla at 77 percent, while s ...