Lee Nak-yon leads polls of prospective presidential candidates

Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea took a big lead in a survey of potential presidential candidates conducted by Realmeter from April 20 to 24, with his support rate recording 40.2 percent, up 10.5 percentage points from a month earlier. Courtesy of Realmeter

By Jung Da-min

Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is taking an overwhelming lead in polls on prospective presidential candidates.

According to a survey conducted on 2,552 adults by Realmeter from April 20 to 24, 40.2 percent of respondents said they supported Lee, up 10.5 percentage points from a month earlier. He has been in the lead for 11 months in a row.

The significant rise in Lee's support rate comes after his victory in the April 15 general election, in which Lee went toe-to-toe with Hwang Kyo-ahn, former chairman of the main opposition United Future Party (UFP), in the Jongno constituency in central Seoul.

The battle in Jongno drew attention as the central Seoul district has been a stepping stone for potential presidential contenders, with former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Lee Myung-bak having represented the district.

For Lee and Hwang, former prime ministers to incumbent President Moon Jae-in and former President Park Geun-hye, respectively, victory means more than winning a seat in the 300-strong National Assembly. It also positions the winner as a potential presidential contender, with the next presidential election slated for March 2022.

After his defeat to Lee, the support rate for Hwang recorded 6 percent, down 13.4 percentage points from the previous month, according to the survey. The fall pushed down his ranking as a presidential hopeful from second place to fourth.

Replacing Hwang was Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, who took second place for the first time in recent surveys, with the support rate for him rising slightly to 14.4 percent, a new record high.

As a former presidential candidate of the DPK, Governor Lee's popularity has increased recently as his efforts to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in the province have impressed the public along with his strict measures against the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, considered to be responsible for the explosive spread of the coronavirus in Korea in February.

Hong Joon-pyo, former leader of the Liberty Korea Party, a predecessor of the UFP, took third place for the first time in the pollster's recent surveys, with 7.6 percent, up 3.1 percentage points, after he won in Daegu's Suseong-B constituency in the election. He ran as an independent after failing to get the UFP nomination.

The minor opposition People's Party leader Ahn Cheol-soo, a doctor-turned-politician, took fifth place, and former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, a member of the UFP, placed sixth. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points with a 95 percent confidence level.