Yoon far ahead of Lee in multiple polls after primary

People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl appears to be speeding past his contender, Lee Jae-myung, with various polls placing him more than 10 percentage points ahead.

A Realmeter poll carried out between Sunday and Monday showed that Yoon recorded 46.2 percent in approval ratings, up 11.8 percentage points from the previous week. The ruling Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung fell 0.4 percentage points from the last survey to 34.2 percent.

The People’s Party leader Ahn Cheol-soo and Rep. Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party respectively gained 4.3 percent and 3.7 percent support.

Yoon’s support rose across regions and age groups. His approval rating among those in their 20s rose 23 percentage points to reach 41.8 percent, and rose 10.5 percentage points to 39.5 percent for those in their 30s. By region, his support went up 15.8 percentage points to 50.5 percent in Seoul.

Support for Lee took a hit, especially among the elderly population and in the wider Seoul area.

The number of respondents who backed Lee rose 1.5 percentage points in Seoul, but fell 5.2 percentage points in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, showing a downward trend overall in the metropolitan area. Lee’s support rose in Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces (64.7 percent), Daejeon, Sejong and Chungcheong provinces (34.8 percent), and Seoul (30.9 percent).

By age, his rating fell 9 percentage points among those aged 60 and older and also fell 2.8 percentage points to 23.3 percent for those in their 20s.

The poll’s respondents, when asked about the prospects of Yoon and People’s Party leader Ahn joining forces in next year’s presidential election, some 43 percent said they would “unify” and 40 percent said they would not.

The respondents were less convinced that Lee and Rep. Shim would end up working together. Sixty-seven percent of the respondents predicted that the two would not partner up, compared to 8 percent who indicated they would.

Another poll carried out by the Korea Society Opinion Institute between Friday and Saturday also showed Yoon ahead of Lee by more than 10 percentage points in approval. According to a survey of 1,009 people aged 18 or older nationwide, Yoon had 43 percent and Lee 31.2 percent, respectively.

Ahn followed with a 4.7 percent support, Sim with 3.7 percent and former Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon with 1.4 percent.

KSOI Director Lee Kang-yoon said, ”As the People Power Party’s race ended, the convention effect was maximized … As competition intensified at the end of the race, it seems to reflect the impact of great attention from supporters temporarily.”





By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)