hankyoreh

Candidates for next year’s presidential election, from left to right: Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, Yoon Seok-youl of the People Power Party, and Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party.

A survey of popular support for four candidates in next year’s South Korean presidential election showed People Power Party (PPP) nominee Yoon Seok-youl leading the Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-myung by 11 percentage points, which is greater than the poll’s margin of error.

Yoon outperformed Lee in support among all age groups apart from voters in their 40s.

On Friday, the opinion polling company Gallup Korea announced the results of a survey carried out on Nov. 16 to 18 in which 1,000 adult South Koreans nationwide were asked, “If the following individuals were running in next year’s presidential election, who would you prefer to see as president?” The survey had a 95% confidence level with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

The results showed 42% of respondents naming Yoon, while 31% chose Lee, 7% opted for People’s Party nominee Ahn Cheol-soo, and 5% selected Justice Party nominee Sim Sang-jung.

“We cycled through the choices, and if [respondents] did not name any particular individual, we asked, ‘Who do you at least think is somewhat better?’” Gallup Korea explained.

Yoon received higher support across the board apart from respondents in Gwangju and Jeolla, those in their 40s, and those who identified as progressive.

Among respondents aged 18 to 29, Yoon’s support level was equal to Lee’s at 22%. But he led Lee by margins of 38% to 28% among those in their 30s, 46% to 39% among those in their 50s, and 59% to 27% among those 60 and older. Among respondents in their 40s, Lee led Yoon by a margin of 41% to 32%.

A previous survey on support for the four candidates on Oct. 19–21 had Lee ahead with 34%, followed by Yoon with 31%, Ahn with 9%, and Sim with 5%.

When asked about candidates’ likeability, 37% of respondents said they viewed Yoon positively, while 56% said they did not. The percentage of positive ratings for Yoon was up by nine percentage points from the survey one month earlier.

In Lee’s case, 32% of respondents expressed positive attitudes, while 63% said they did not view him positively. Sim and Ahn were positively viewed by 29% and 25% of respondents, respectively.

The same Gallup Korea survey results also showed a 34% approval rating for President Moon Jae-in — a drop of three percentage points from the week before. Meanwhile, 59% of respondents rated his performance negatively.

The proportion of respondents citing “lack of solutions to economic/livelihood issues” as a reason for their negative assessment was up by three percentage points from the week before.

The survey was conducted by telephone interviews, with a response rate of 15%. More information can be found at the websites of Gallup Korea and the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

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