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Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl (Yonhap News)

In a virtual matchup of Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the likely frontrunners in South Korea’s presidential election next year, Lee had a lead over Yoon that exceeded the margin of error.

Global Research announced Sunday that Lee led Yoon by 8 points, 44.7% to 36.7%, in a poll carried out from Wednesday to Friday. The poll of 1,000 people aged 18 and above around the country had a confidence level of 95% and a sample error of plus or minus 3.1 points.

Yoon’s support appears to have been shaken by the double whammy of his mother-in-law’s imprisonment and swirling allegations contained in a document called the X-File.

By age group, Lee had the advantage among respondents aged 59 and below, while Yoon had more support among voters aged 60 and above.

When respondents were asked which likely presidential candidate (among the various presidential hopefuls from the ruling and opposition parties) was best suited to be president, Lee had 26.5% of support, while Yoon had 25%, with just 1.5 points between them. Trailing in the poll were Lee Nak-yon, former head of the Democratic Party, with 9.4%, and People Power Party lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo, with 3.6%.

Yoon had a commanding lead over other presidential hopefuls from the political opposition, with 26.3% of support. In regard to Yoon’s presidential bid, 40.9% of respondents said he should run as a candidate for the People Power Party, while just 29.5% said he should run as an independent or with a third party.

The poll took place through telephone interviews, with a 13% response rate.

By Jang Na-rye, staff reporter

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