By Kim Hyo-jin
Moon Jae-in, former chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), stretched his lead over ex-U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a local opinion poll, Monday.
A Realmeter poll, conducted last week with 2,520 respondents, showed Ban’s support stood at 19.8 percent, a decrease of 2.4 percentage points from the previous week.
Meanwhile, Moon had the support of 29.1 percent, up 3 percentage points, boasting a solid lead among potential presidential candidates from rival parties.
It marked the first time Ban’s rating fell below 20 percent in the six weeks since the first week of December.
The pollster analyzed a series of slip-ups Ban made while touring the country and his brother’s bribery case chipped away at his public support.
The daily support rating has trended downward for the previous week and hit bottom at 16.4 percent, Friday, when it was reported that the U.S. government had asked the justice ministry to arrest Ban’s brother Ki-sang on bribery charges.
Ban Ki-sang and his son Joo-hyun are accused of attempting to give a $500,000 bribe to a government official in Qatar in return for business favors.
Ban became embroiled in controversy, Wednesday, after a conversation with his spokesman was overheard where Ban called reporters who repeatedly asked him about his position on the comfort women deal, “bad guys.”
Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung, who announced his presidential bid in the DPK, Monday, was third with a 10.1 percent support rating, down 1.6 percentage points from the previous week.
While Lee’s rating has fallen, Ahn Cheol-soo, former leader of the second-largest opposition People’s Party, has slowly made inroads in gaining public support. Ahn garnered 7.4 percent, up 0.4 percentage points.
In Gwangju and North and South Jeolla Province, the liberal home turf, Lee and Ahn engaged in a close game with 13.4 and 13.3 percent.
South Chungcheong Governor An Hee-jung who officially joined the presidential race last week, stood at 4.7 percent, ranked fifth. Prime Minister and acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn followed An with support of 4.6 percent.
In the party’s support rate, the DPK gained a 38 percent rating, beating the ruling Saenuri Party with 12.5 percent, and the People’s Party with 11.5 percent.
The Bareun Party, the group that left the Saenuri Party, stood at 8.9 percent, down for three consecutive weeks.