An narrows gap with Moon
By Rachel Lee
Moon Jae-in
An Hee-jung
South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung has narrowed the gap with Moon Jae-in considerably, according to a poll, released Friday.
A Gallup Korea survey conducted between Tuesday and Thursday on 1,007 respondents showed that An, also from the DPK, stood at 19 percent, a whopping 9 percentage points increase from the previous week.
Moon’s support, however, fell to 29 percent, 3 percentage points down from the last week.
The pollster said the governor’s popularity has come from diverse groups of people in the country, including from the Chungcheong region and opposition voters, as well as those supporting the conservative Bareun Party and minor opposition People’s Party. The poll found that An attracted more support from the Jeolla region, the country’s liberal stronghold, and the conservative North Gyeongsang Province by 11 and 13 percentage points, respectively.
An was followed acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn with 11 percent, up two percentage points from a week earlier. Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, former leader of the minor opposition People’s Party, secured fourth place with support of 7 percent.
Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the conservative Bareun Party stood at 3 percent.
The survey results indicated competition among presidential aspirants kicked off in earnest with An and Hwang challenging Moon’s dominance, observers say.
Whether or not An is capable of catching up with Moon depends on the governor’s support rate, which should “exceed 20 percent,” Myongji University politics professor Kim Hyung-joon said.
“Governor An will have to take away votes from other opposition contenders, including Moon and Mayor Lee so that he can have extra support,” an expert said.
Since the withdrawal of former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon from the race last week, An has overtaken the Seongnam Mayor as the runner-up in polls, thanks to growing support from conservative voters in the Chungcheong region, who were left bewildered.
Despite his hard-line background as a student activist against dictatorships in the 1980s, An has highlighted integration and cooperative governance with opponents in South Chungcheong Province, where conservatives are dominant.