Most Koreans Fear Economy Will Get Worse
12 November, 2018
The vast majority of Koreans believe the country's economy will either get worse or at best stay the same.
According to a Gallup Korea poll on Friday, 53 percent said they believe economic conditions will worsen and only 16 percent said that they will improve. The rest think there will be no change. The 37 percentage-point difference between optimist and pessimists is the biggest gap since September last year.
Some 29 percent of respondents also feel living conditions will worsen and just 16 percent forecast that they will improve. The rest expect no change.
When it comes to employment, 56 percent of Koreans said jobless figures will rise and 15 percent said that they will fall. And 51 percent feel labor relations will get worse and only 12 percent think that they will improve.
Amid the gloomy outlook, President Moon Jae-in's approval rating has fallen again for the fourth week running. Support fell one percentage point from last week to 54 percent, while 36 percent said he is doing a bad job, up one percentage point.
Thirty-five percent of supporters praised Moon's rapprochement with North Korea, while 47 percent of critics took issue with his handling of the economy.
The poll was conducted on 1,002 adults across the nation last week.
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