Moon’s rating soars

By Kim Se-jeong

On the same day Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party (DUP) secured his party’s endorsement as its presidential candidate, an opinion poll showed public support for him is rapidly rising.

According to a survey by MONO Research 48.6 percent of 1,487 respondents answered they’d prefer Moon to Ahn. Software-mogul turned professor Ahn Cheol-soo, still to announce whether he will run for office, garnered 31.8 percent of the votes.

The poll was conducted between Sept. 13 and 14, and a margin of error was 2.54 percent.

The DUP held its final primary in Seoul, Sunday.

Asked if Ahn’s bid would change their mind, 33.2 percent said yes and they vowed to vote for him, confirming that he is the biggest potential threat to Moon. Ahn has never made his bid intentions clear, but recent moves have fed speculation that he will join the race.

Ahn’s team announced he’ll wait until the DUP primary is over.

The 332 respondents who showed a willingness to change their minds were mostly in their 20s and from the Jeolla Provinces. The area is a weak spot for Moon, who gained only 35 percent support there while Ahn had 50.9 percent. In all other regions, Moon led the poll.

In a hypothetical trilateral race between Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party, Ahn and Moon, the pool showed Park held the lead with 42.9 percent, followed by Ahn with 22.9 percent and Moon at 17.9 percent.

In a proposed one-on-one race between Park and Ahn, the former is likely to win with 47.2 percent of the vote. Between Park and Moon, she still led the poll with 48.5 percent, with Moon at 42.4 percent.