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Lee Jae-myung with former Hyundai Motor CEO Gong Young-woon (left); PPP interim leader Han Dong-hoon with former Samsung Electronics CEO Koh Dong-jin (right). 

A recent poll has shown that a hypothetical presidential matchup between Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung and People Power Party interim leader Han Dong-hoon would result in a tight race. 

In a survey of 1,011 voting-age South Koreans nationwide conducted by Gallup Korea (commissioned by Seoul Economic Daily) on Thursday and Friday, 45% of respondents said they would support Lee in a hypothetical race, while 42% said they would support Han. That’s a disparity of a mere 3 percentage points, which is within the margin for error. Only 3% of respondents said they would vote for a third party, while 8% of respondents said they wouldn’t vote for anyone.  

The interviews were conducted by phone, with a response rate of 15.5%. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points and a confidence level of 95%.

Broken down by age, Lee saw support 11 to 32 points higher than Han among those aged between 20 and 59. Over the age of 60, however, Han saw more support than Lee. 

Respondents in their 20s were found to be equally split between the two figures, with 35% for each. 

Han was found to have higher approval ratings in Seoul (43% to 40%) and the Chungcheong region (47% to 42%), though these figures were still within the margin of error. 

Meanwhile Lee saw much broader support in the Incheon and Gyeonggi region, home to his current constituency and where he formerly served as provincial governor, at 51% approval, a 14-point lead over Han’s 37%. 

In the Democratic strongholds of Gwangju and Jeolla, Lee enjoyed 81% approval. 

For more details, visit the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission (in Korean).

By Bae Ji-hyun, staff reporter

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