Former Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, also of the PPP, came in third with 6 %. Minor conservative Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok took 2 %. Twenty-six per cent of respondents said they had no preferred candidate or were undecided.
Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Yoon Suk Yeol by just 0.73 percentage points in the last election despite securing 47.83 % of the vote, has consistently led in preference polls, but this latest figure marks a new high for him, Gallup Korea said.
South Korea is to hold an early presidential election on June 3, following Yoon’s impeachment and removal for violating the law and democratic principles by declaring martial law in the country. The major political parties are each expected to finalise their standard bearer in the coming weeks.
Gallup’s weekly survey, conducted April 15-17 of 1,000 adults nationwide, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 % confidence level. Full results are available on the National Election Commission’s website.
The Korea Herald
Asia News Network
Photo by Reuters