Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee for the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, secured nearly half of voter support in a recent poll of preferred presidential candidates.

Until recently leader of the Democratic Party, Lee officially secured the nomination as the party’s presidential candidate on Sunday.

According to a Realmeter survey released Monday, Lee garnered 48.5 percent support of 1,505 respondents aged 18 and older, down 1.7 percentage points from the previous week. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Among contenders from the ruling People Power Party, former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo ranked next at 13.4 percent, followed by former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo with 10.2 percent and former party chair Han Dong-hoon with 9.7 percent.

Rep. Lee Jun-seok of the minor conservative Reform Party polled at 4.4 percent, while Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the People Power Party sat at just 2.5 percent.

Realmeter noted that while Lee’s support dipped slightly amid uncertainties over the Supreme Court's ruling on his election law violation case, he "continues to hold a commanding lead over other candidates."

The pollster added that Kim Moon-soo and Han Dong-hoon each saw modest gains of around 1 to 2 percentage points following the People Power Party’s first primary round on April 22.

In party support, the Democratic Party led with 46.8 percent, down 1.9 percentage points from the previous survey, while the People Power Party rose 1.7 percentage points to 34.6 percent. The Democratic Party has maintained its lead for five consecutive weeks.

In a separate question on preference for the next governing bloc, 56.8 percent of respondents favored a change in administration, while 37.7 percent supported the previous governing bloc. Calls for change have continued to outpace support for continuity for nine consecutive weeks.

Full survey details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.