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Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. (Baek So-ah, staff photographer)

A South Korea poll released on Nov. 19 found that there’s much more opposition than support for the prospect of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl running in the country’s next presidential election in 2022.

When 1,018 adults around the country were asked on Nov. 16-18 what they think about Yoon making a presidential bid, 40% said he shouldn’t run. The poll, carried out by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research, had a reliability of 95% and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 points. Among respondents, 20% said Yoon should run, and 40% said they weren’t sure.

There was twice as much opposition as support for Yoon’s candidacy across all age groups. The only region in which support prevailed was Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, with 34% favoring Yoon’s candidacy there. The lowest level of support was found in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province.

Respondents were also asked their opinion about Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae’s remarks during a plenary session of the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Budgets and Accounts on Nov. 11, when she suggested that Yoon “should step down and go into politics.” Among respondents, 66% said they didn’t agree with Choo’s remarks, while 25% said they did.

When asked about the presidential fitness of potential candidates, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung (20%) and Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yon (19%) held their position as frontrunners. Yoon was chosen by 12% of respondents, followed by independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo (4%) and former lawmakers Ahn Cheol-soo (3%) and Yoo Seung-min (3%).

The two Lees (who are unrelated) saw their standing slide by 3 points each compared to a poll two weeks earlier that asked the same questions. This was the first time that Yoon was offered as one of the choices in the presidential fitness poll.

Poll respondents were split about whether Moon Jae-in is doing a good or bad job as president, with the same percentage (46%) of respondents holding each view. Moon’s approval rating was the lowest it has been since the second week of July, when the four polling companies launched their aggregate poll.

In terms of party allegiance, the Democratic Party enjoyed 35% of support, followed by the People Power Party at 22% and the Justice Party at 7%. More details can be found on the websites of the National Barometer Survey and the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

By Kim Mi-na, staff reporter

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