Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Yoon rebounds, Lee stagnates in polls
Main opposition People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a policy forum at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps
By Nam Hyun-woo
By Nam Hyun-woo
Main opposition People Power Party (PPP) presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is quickly rebounding in his support rate despite allegations involving his family members, while ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate Lee Jae-myung is failing to break above the 40 percent mark.
According to a Realmeter poll released Wednesday, Yoon was leading the pack with 44.7 percent, followed by Lee with 35.6 percent. Yoon saw a 5.5-percentage-point growth from the same survey two weeks earlier, while Lee suffered a 1.3 percentage point decline during the same period, making the gap between the two 9.1 percentage points, which is greater than the survey's error margin of 3.1 percentage points.
The survey was requested by broadcaster YTN and questioned 1,018 adults from Jan. 24 to 25.
The rivalry between Yoon and Lee is showing similar patterns in other recent surveys, with Yoon quickly recovering his support rate while Lee is failing to find a breakthrough in his support rate.
In a poll by Global Research released Monday, Yoon secured 37.8 percent, outpacing Lee with 33.6 percent. Compared to a week earlier, Yoon's support grew 4.9 percentage points while that of Lee declined by 1 percentage point. The survey was requested by broadcaster JTBC and questioned 1,012 adults from Jan. 22 to 23.
Yoon has been enjoying a rebound recently, despite allegations and suspicions raised on a taped conversation between his wife, Kim Keon-hee, and a YouTube-based media outlet. The conversation, however, backfired for the DPK candidate, as a recording of Lee using foul language to his elder brother's wife was revealed in what appears to be a counter move by the main opposition party.
The reconciliation between Yoon and PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok is also believed to have played a role in Yoon's recent rebound.
The PPP suffered internal strife throughout last month upon Yoon and Lee's disagreement on election strategies, but the two patched up their differences earlier this month and have been showing a united stance since then. Pundits said Yoon's rhetoric and remarks became more refined after the reconciliation.
Ruling Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung reacts to supporters during his campaign in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps
While Yoon is enjoying a stable upward swing in his support rate, the DPK's Lee is still striving to find a breakthrough.
Following DPK Chairman Song Young-gil's promise to make a generational change in the party's mainstream a day earlier, Lee echoed Song's effort on Wednesday saying he will change the country's politics by forming his Cabinet without considering ideology and partisanship.
The move was interpreted as a possibility that Lee may opt to form coalitions with candidates other than Yoon, such as Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party.
Ahn enjoyed a surge while Yoon was tumbling due to internal conflicts within his party, but recent surveys show that his support rate is declining. The Realmeter poll showed that Ahn's rate stood at 9.8 percent, down 2.4 percentage points from the previous survey.
Ahn gained attention with the possibility of him forming a coalition and standing behind Yoon's candidacy, but he is still refusing this, demanding Yoon to advocate his candidacy. The Realmeter poll showed that if Ahn stands behind Yoon, Yoon will beat DPK's Lee by 47.2 percent to 36.3 percent. If Yoon stands behind Ahn, Ahn will also outpace Lee by 38.1 percent to 31.1 percent.
Further details of the aforementioned surveys are available at the websites of each polling agency or the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.