President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating fell to 36 percent, a poll showed Friday, amid concerns about the protracted walkout by trainee doctors protesting the government's decision to dramatically increase the country's medical school enrollment quota. Positive assessment of Yoon fell by 3 percentage points, while negative assessment rose 3 percentage points to 57 percent, according to a survey by Gallup conducted from Tuesday to Thursday. The pollster attributed the decline to changing public sentiment over the government's plan to add 2,000 slots to the country's medical school enrollment quota amid concerns the prolonged walkout could hurt the country's medical system. Yoon's approval rating had remained at 39 percent for the past two weeks driven by support for the hike. In a poll of parties, support for the ruling People Power Party (PPP) remained flat at 37 percent, while support for the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) rose 1 percentage point to 32 percent. The DP's approval rating has bee n fluctuating recently due to growing support for the Korea Innovation Party, a new party created by the disgraced former Justice Minister Cho Kuk last month. It is leading polls among minor parties with 7 percent support, the pollster said. "The DP and the Korea Innovation Party share the same core support base among the 40s to 50s demographic, with one out of three DP supporters choosing Cho's party as their preference for proportional representative votes," the pollster explained. Former PPP leader Lee Jun-seok's New Reform Party trailed behind with 2 percent. Other minor parties, including the Justice Party and former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon's New Future Party (Saemirae), each received 1 percent support. Seventeen percent of respondents said they do not support any political party. In terms of election prospects, 49 percent anticipated the DP to seize a majority in parliament in next month's general elections, while 40 percent rooted for the PPP. Among middle-of-the-road voters, 46 percent said t hey anticipated the DP to clinch a majority. Regarding the government's plan to add more seats to medical schools, 47 percent said the government should push ahead with its original plan, while 41 percent said it should compromise. Only 6 percent said the government should maintain the current status quo regarding the number of medical school seats. The poll was conducted on 1,002 people with a confidence rate of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Source: Yonhap News Agency