Park's approval ratings up after pro-DPRK party's dismissal

SEOUL -?The Republic of Korea's?President Park Geun-hye 's approval ratings rebounded last week after the Constitutional Court ruled to disband a minor political party, considered as a follower of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), a poll showed Monday.

President Park's approval ratings was 39.9 percent last week, up 0.2 percentage points from a week earlier, according to a survey of 2,500 adults conducted by a poll company Realmeter.

Park's daily popularity rate continued to fall from 39.8 percent on Dec. 15 to 37.8 percent on Dec 17, the lowest since Park's inauguration in February last year.

The rate rebounded to 42.6 percent on Dec 19 when the court ordered the dissolution of the Unified Progressive Party (UPP) and stripped the party's five lawmakers of their parliamentary seats.

Popularity among conservatives in their 50s and 60s went up after the UPP dismissal. The approval ratings among conservatives jumped from 60.6 percent to 72.1 percent last week, with the rate in their 50s surging from 43.3 percent to 54.3 percent. The figure for those in their 60s increased from 64.9 percent to 71.5 percent.

Lee Seok-ki, former lawmaker of the UPP, have triggered the unprecedented dissolution. Lee was found guilty of instigating an armed rebellion in case of an inter-Korean war and violating the National Security Law. The 53-year-old was arrested in September last year on charges of conspiring with members of a secret organization.