SEOUL, July 19 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in's approval rating fell this week to 61.7 percent amid rising controversy over a minimum wage hike, which many self-employed criticized for labor costs burden, a weekly survey showed Thursday.
According to the Realmeter survey, support for Moon plunged 6.4 percentage points over the week to 61.7 percent this week. It marked the biggest weekly fall since Moon took office in May last year.
The result was based on a poll of 1,504 voters conducted from Monday to Wednesday. It had 2.5 percentage points in margin of error with a 95 percent confidence level.
The sharp fall in Moon's support score came as the government decided to raise the minimum wage by 10.9 percent to 8,350 won (7.4 U.S. dollars) per hour beginning next year.
The minimum wage hike was hailed by irregular workers, but many of the self-employed, especially the owners of convenient stores, denounced it for a sharp increase in labor costs.
Calls mounted for higher minimum wage as Moon's two conservative predecessors refrained from raising it for their business-friendly policies.
Major presidential candidates, including Moon, pledged to raise the minimum wage to 10,000 won (8.8 U.S. dollars) per hour in the 2017 presidential election.
Support for Moon's ruling Democratic Party declined 3.8 percentage points from a week earlier to 41.8 percent this week. It was the lowest rating in 14 months.
The main conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party garnered 19.5 percent of support this week, up 2.5 percentage points from the previous week.
The minor progressive Justice Party earned 10.2 percent in approval rating as supporters for the ruling party moved to the more progressive party.
The minor conservative Bareun Future Party and the minor centrist Party for Democracy and Peace won 7.0 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively, in support scores.
