Majority of PPP supporters back Yoon Seok-youl as president

Some 6 in 10 supporters of the main opposition People Power Party think Yoon Seok-youl is fit to be the next president of South Korea, dwarfing support for the established politicians of the party, a recent poll showed Thursday.

The survey was conducted with 1,006 eligible voters by Realmeter and commissioned by OhmyNews, a left-leaning internet news outlet.

According to survey results, the ex-prosecutor general received a 58 percent support rating among 383 respondents who said they support the main opposition party.

Compared to Yoon, the support rate for other contenders in the opposition were relatively low. Rep. Hong Joon-pyo came second with support of 10 percent and former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min came third at 6 percent.

Among ruling Democratic Party of Korea supporters, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung came in first. Some half, or 50.3 percent among 344 respondents, opted for Lee as the next president.

Among other contenders, Rep. Lee Nak-yon trailed with 30.5 percent support. Former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae garnered 10.3 percent and former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun sat at 4.2 percent.

Yoon also led the poll among all respondents, with support of 33.2 percent. He, however, was closely followed by Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myoung at 32.4 percent.

By age, Yoon was favored by senior voters while middle-aged voters preferred Lee.

Some 41.4 percent of respondents in their 60s and 45.1 percent in their 70s chose Yoon. Meanwhile, 46.6 percent of respondents in their 40s chose Lee as the next president.


By Kang Jae-eun (kang.jaeeun@heraldcorp.com)