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Democratic Party presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung adjusts his glasses while attending the 2021 parliamentary audit of Gyeonggi Province by the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee on Monday morning. (pool photo)

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, under fire for his alleged role in a real estate scandal, faces a close race against his conservative rivals. A survey found that if the presidential election were held today, support for Lee Jae-myung would be within the margin of error in a matchup between him and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and Rep. Hong Joon-pyo.

Compared to the results of the same poll last week, Lee saw lower support from 40-somethings and the liberal camp's traditional stronghold of Honam, a region comprising Gwangju and the two Jeolla provinces.

Broadcaster TBS commissioned the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) to conduct a survey from Oct. 15-16 on 1,003 adults nationwide on their choice for the president in the election in March (confidence level of 95% and margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points).

The results found Yoon getting 32.9% of the vote if he gains the nomination of the main opposition People Power Party, edging out Lee's 32.0%.

In addition, Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor conservative People's Party got 3.5%, Sim Sang-jung of the minor progressive Justice Party picked up 3.2% and former Minister of Economy and Finance Kim Dong-yeon yielded 1.2%.

Compared to the results of last week's survey, Lee received 49.8% of the 40-something vote, down 4.6 percentage points, and 55.4% of that in Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces, down 3.6.

The poll found the race would be tight — within the margin of error — even if Hong Joon-pyo becomes the presidential nominee for the People Power Party. Lee Jae-myung and Hong came in first and second place, with 31.5% and 27.5% of support, respectively, followed by Justice Party lawmaker Sim Sang-jung (3.9%), People’s Party leader Ahn Cheol-soo (3.5%), and former Minister of Economy and Finance Kim Dong-yeon (1.7%).

When respondents were asked which presidential hopefuls in the broader conservative camp are best suited to be president, Yoon (29.1%) and Hong (28.5%) were in a dead heat. Other choices were Yoo Seong-min (11.7%), Won Hee-ryong (4.8%), and Ahn Cheol-soo (3.4%).

The KSOI conducted the poll with the automated response method, using anonymized phone numbers provided by the National Election Commission. The poll had a response rate of 6.8%

The detailed results and summary can be found on the websites of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission and the KSOI.

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]