President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating fell slightly to 35.4 percent, a poll showed Monday, amid debates about the government's decision to relocate the bust of a revered independence fighter.

In a poll of 2,505 eligible voters commissioned by Media Tribune and conducted by Realmeter from Monday to Friday last week, Yoon's approval rating fell 2.2 percentage points from a week earlier, while negative assessment rose by 1.7 percentage points to 61.1 percent, the poll showed.

A drop in positive assessment can be blamed on the recent controversy over the government's decision to move the bust of independence fighter Hong Beom-do outside of its current location at the Korea Military Academy, citing his past ties with the Soviet Union, Realmeter's senior analyst, Bae Chul-ho, said.

Bae added that the impact of Japan's ongoing ocean discharge of water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant was negligible, as the issue had already been reflected in previous surveys.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. (Yonhap)