Ex-prosecutor general outstrips ruling party presidential contenders
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl casts his ballot at a polling station in Seoul's Seodaemun District, April 2, for the early voting of the April 7 by-elections. He is leading polls of potential presidential candidates. Yonhap
By Jung Da-min
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl's popularity as a potential presidential candidate has outstripped the two major contenders from the ruling party.
Public favorability of him as a potential presidential contender has increased after he resigned from his post in early March, and he now has a big lead over Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, a member of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), and former DPK Chairman Lee Nak-yon
In a survey of 1,011 adults by local pollster Realmeter and released Monday, 37.2 percent said they support Yoon, followed by Governor Lee with 21 percent and the former DPK Chairman, 11 percent.
In a hypothetical two-way race between Yoon and Governor Lee, Yoon garnered 51.1 percent of support, far surpassing the governor's 32.3 percent. Yoon led the governor even in Gwangju and North and South Jeolla provinces, whose residents have traditionally showed support for the liberal bloc, although the margin was much smaller at 41.4 percent to 40.8 percent.
In a virtual two-way race between Yoon and former DPK Chairman Lee, 51.6 percent said they supported Yoon, while 30.1 percent supported the former chairman.
People in their 40s preferred the two Lees over Yoon in the hypothetical two-way races, but Yoon outstripped them in all other age groups.
Before resigning, Yoon had been at odds with the Moon Jae-in administration, especially with its former justice ministers, over the government's prosecutorial reform. Since then he has been recognized as a symbol of protest against the government, with the opposition political parties wooing him to join them.
The next presidential election is slated for March 2022.