Ruling party narrowly leads in voters' party support
The proportion of South Koreans in favor of a transition of power to an opposition figure has grown slightly, a poll suggested Monday.
Realmeter's poll of 1,002 people conducted Thursday and Friday showed 49.2 percent of respondents supported a transition of power away from the ruling People Power Party if Yoon's impeachment leads to a snap election. That marked a rise of 0.1 percentage point from two weeks prior. Those who opposed a power transition sat at 45.2 percent, down 0.8 percentage point in two weeks.
The gap between the two sides came to 4 percentage points, which has remained within the margin of error since mid-January, according to Realmeter, though it did not put out a weekly poll the previous week because of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Among those who identified as centrists, 57.5 percent were in favor of a power transition, up 6.9 percentage points from the previous poll. This offset a 7.9 percentage point drop in support for a power transition among supporters of the political left.
When asked about the preferred left-wing candidate in a snap election, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, maintained the lead at 40.8 percent in support.
Lee was followed by Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Dong-yeon at 7.7 percent, former Interior Minister Kim Boo-kyum with 6.5 percent and former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon with 6 percent. Former South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo drew 4 percent support, followed by National Assembly Speaker Rep. Woo Won-shik's 3.5 percent.
It was the first time Realmeter conducted the survey on potential presidential candidates since the martial law declaration in December that led to Yoon's impeachment. The next presidential election is scheduled for March 2027, but if Yoon's impeachment is upheld and he is formally removed from his post, a snap election could be held as early as this spring.
Meanwhile, among right-wing candidates, Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo took the lead in the poll with 25.1 percent, although he said last week that he did not intend to run for president.
This was followed by former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min at 11.3 percent, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on 10.3 percent, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo at 7.5 percent and former ruling party leader and Yoon's estranged lieutenant Han Dong-hoon's 7.4 percent.
The same poll indicated that the ruling People Power Party held a slight edge over the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea in terms of party support, though its lead had shrunk.
The support level for the People Power Party came to 42.8 percent, 2 percentage points higher than that of the Democratic Party. The People Power Party has held a lead since the third week of January.
consnow@heraldcorp.com
