Lee's approval rating edges up above 60%

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating climbed back above 60 percent for the first time in three weeks, driven by positive assessment of his livelihood-related policies and a strong stock rally, a poll showed Monday. According to the survey, commissioned by EKN newspaper and conducted by Realmeter on 2,506 respondents aged 18 and older from Monday through Friday, the positive assessment of Lee's job performance gained 0.8 percentage point from a week earlier to 60.5 percent. Negative assessment fell 0.6 percentage point to 35.1 percent over the cited period, while 4.4 percent said they were unsure. Realmeter said the president's efforts on livelihood-related issues, including the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index surpassing the 8,000 mark, and his visit to the southeastern regions of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province to inspect the site for a planned civilian-military airport, helped drive up his approval rating. The pollster said a set of negative factors partly offset the positive sentiment, including the controversy surrounding remarks by presidential policy chief Kim Y