A Gallup Korea poll showed Friday that over 50 percent of South Korean adults preferred liberal Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate Rep. Lee Jae-myung.
Lee, who formerly chaired the Democratic Party after narrowly losing to former President Yoon Suk Yeol in 2022, was the frontrunner in the poll of 1,004 adults from Tuesday to Thursday with 51 percent of favorable rating.
It was the first Gallup Korea's weekly poll outcome since the official campaign period began Monday. In the previous poll unveiled three weeks ago in late April, Democratic Party's Lee got 38 percent backing.
Lee was followed by conservative People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo, who garnered 29 percent support and minor conservative New Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok's 8 percent.
In the previous poll, the ratings of Kim and the New Reform Party's Lee stood at 8 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
Of the respondents this week, 12 percent had no opinion about their favorite presidential candidates.
Among those who identified themselves as the centrists, 52 percent favored liberal party's Lee, while 20 percent backed the conservative rival's Kim. Among conservatives, Democratic Party candidate Lee's support came to 22 percent, behind Kim's 58 percent.
In the southeastern region — long considered the right-wing stronghold — Lee and Kim are in a close race. The poll showed Lee's overall rating in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province came to 41 percent, ahead of Kim's 39 percent. In Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, Kim was ahead of Lee by 48 percent to 34 percent.
Those who favored Democratic Party's Lee cited his capacity to manage state affairs, his ability to handle the aftermath of former President Yoon's martial law imposition, among others. Supporters of the People Power Party's Kim favored his high moral standard and his sincerity.
Another poll by Realmeter, also released Friday, showed a similar outcome. Lee's support rating came to 51.9 percent, far ahead of Kim's 33.1 percent and New Reform Party candidate Lee's 6.6 percent. The poll was conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday.
consnow@heraldcorp.com
