SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in's approval rating fell below 50 percent for the first time since his inauguration in May last year, a weekly poll showed Friday.

According to the Gallup Korea survey, support for Moon declined 4 percentage points over the week to 49 percent this week, sliding below 50 percent for the first time.

The result was based on a survey of 1,000 voters conducted from Tuesday to Thursday. It had 3.1 percentage points in margin of error with a 95 percent confidence level.

Supporters positively assessed Moon's policy toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and efforts to expand social welfare.

Conservative voters, however, turned their back on the president amid harsh criticism by conservative media outlets of Moon's income-driven growth policy, which aims to reinvigorate the economy by increasing household income.

The Moon government sharply raised minimum wage for the low-income bracket, but it caused backlash from the self-employed who run small businesses. The sharp rise in minimum wage boosted worry about labor costs.

Support for Moon's ruling Democratic Party rose 1 percentage point over the week to 41 percent this week.

The main conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party and the minor progressive Justice Party garnered an identical support rating of 12 percent this week.

It indicated that voters disappointed at Moon's economic policy moved to the more progressive party, rather than to the ultra-rightist conservative party.

The minor conservative Bareun Future Party gained 9 percent of support, and the center-left Party for Democracy and Peace won 1 percent in support scores.