President Park Geun-hye's approval rating edged up last week from the previous seven-day period, data showed Monday, as the public cheered her efforts to expand diplomatic ties with Africa.

According to the data compiled by RealMeter, Park's approval rating came to 33.9 percent, up 1.6 percentage points from a week earlier. The poll was conducted on 2,532 South Koreans last week.

The disapproval rate of Park's performance came to 61.3 percent, down 1.6 percentage points over the cited period. The remaining 4.8 percent were undecided.

Park is on a 12-day tour of Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and France.

The local pollster said the increase in Park's approval rating also came amid U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's potential bid for the presidency, which helped consolidate conservative voters.

During his visit to South Korea, Ban said he would "contemplate" what he would do as a South Korean citizen when he returns to his home country after completing his two terms as the U.N. helmsman at the end of this year.

By parties, the ruling Saenuri Party saw its approval rating edge up 1.7 percentage points on-week to 30.1 percent last week, marking the first increase in three weeks.

That of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea plunged 3.1 percentage points to 26.4 percent. The minor People's Party's approval rating inched up from 19.8 percent to 20.1 percent.

As for the potential candidates for the next presidential race, Moon Jae-in, former leader of the Minjoo Party, topped the list with 21.5 percent, followed by Ahn Cheol-soo, co-chairman of the People's Party, with 16.1 percent. Ban was not included in the latest survey. (Yonhap)