The gap in approval ratings has dropped to under-one percentage point, reaching an all-time low since the start of President Moon’s administration, data showed.

A new poll released Monday showed that, among the 2,502 adults surveyed, the ruling Democratic Party posted an approval rating of 35.3 percent, a drop of 3 percentage points since the previous week. The Liberty Korea Party’s support rate, on the other hand, came to 34.4 percent, surging 1.4 percentage points on-week.

The survey was conducted on four days last week -- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

The Democratic Party saw a decline in its approval rating for the second consecutive week and the lowest in seven months amid the continuing public outcry over the allegations surrounding Cho Kuk, who stepped down as justice minister Monday.

The Liberty Party Korea, which has been leading the protest against the president’s decision to appoint Cho, marked its highest support rate over the last five months.

The gap of 0.9 percentage points between the approval ratings of the two major political parties is the lowest since the Moon administration took office in May 2017. On Friday, the major conservative party outplayed the ruling party in the approval rate for the first time during Moon’s presidency. 

By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)