hankyoreh

The four primary candidates for South Korean president, from left to right: Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party, Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party, and Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party.

According to a recent survey, Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is outpolling People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, while support for People’s Party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo has doubled.

Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research International (KRi), and Hankook Research surveyed support for presidential candidates among 1,000 voters across the country between Monday and Wednesday. This National Barometer Survey had a confidence level of 95% and a sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

According to the survey’s results, Lee Jae-myung is polling at 36% and Yoon at 28%. Compared to last week’s polling numbers, Yoon’s support remained unchanged, while Lee’s support dipped by 3 percentage points.

Meanwhile, minor opposition party candidate Ahn saw his poll numbers double, jumping from 6% to 12% in the span of a week. Sim Sang-jung of the minor progressive Justice Party is currently polling at 2%.

In a candidate favorability survey, Ahn polled at 42%, Lee at 41%, and Sim at 34%. Yoon stood at 32% — down 7 percentage points from a month ago.

When asked which of the candidates they consider to be the most moral, 35% of the respondents named Ahn Cheol-soo. On morality, Sim polled at 17%, Yoon at 14%, and Lee at 13%.

Lee Jae-myung was 13 percentage points ahead of Yoon Suk-yeol in a previous KRi that was commissioned by KBS, which surveyed 1,000 voting-age adults Monday through Tuesday. Lee accounted for 39.1% of the public’s support while Yoon picked up 26%, Ahn trailed with 10.6%, and Sim earned 3.1%.

The National Barometer Survey is conducted via telephone surveys using virtual anonymous mobile phone numbers provided by three domestic telecommunication companies.

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

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