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Yoon ahead of Lee within margin of error: poll

Support for Yoon rising, while Lee's rates stagnant in Hankook Ilbo surveyBy Nam Hyun-wooThe two leading presidential candidates are still in a tight race with only 18 days left before the March 9 election. Main opposition People Power Party (PPP) candidate Yoon Suk-yeol was leading the pack within the margin of error, and ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate Lee Jae-myung was trailing, according to a recent poll released on Sunday.In the survey conducted by Hankook Research at the request of Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, Yoon secured 42.4 percent of support, followed by Lee with 36.9 percent. Minor People's Party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo scored 7.1 percent and another minor Justice Party candidate Sim Sang-jung stood at 2.3 percent.The gap between Yoon and Lee is 5.5 percentage points, which is within the survey's margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points for each candidate. Compared to a previous Hankook Research poll conducted from Dec. 29 to 30, Yoon's support rate has increased sharply from 28.7 percent to 42.4 percent, whereas Lee's ra

Feb 21, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Yoon ahead of Lee within margin of error: poll

Housing, real estate policies to impact election results most

By Kwon Mee-yooAmid the neck-and-neck race between the two top presidential candidates Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) and Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), housing and real estate have emerged as the key policy areas affecting the election results, a recent poll showed.According to the survey conducted by Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, in collaboration with the polling agency Hankook Research, 26.3 percent answered that housing and real estate policies are the most important issues that would influence voters' decisions on their picks.Other issues also likely to impact the results are job creation and labor policies with 11.5 percent, economic growth plans with 11.1 percent, reform on prosecution and the media with 10.9 percent and economic polarization and social welfare issues with 7.8 percent.Soaring real estate prices are considered one of the biggest policy failures of the current Moon Jae-in administration, as the President hi

Feb 21, 2022By Kwon Mee-yoo
Housing, real estate policies to impact election results most

Lee, Yoon differ over how to support industries

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, greets people attending an online conference and announces his digital industry policy in Seoul, Jan. 11. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geunLee promises government-led investment, Yoon vows for private-led economic innovationBy Baek Byung-yeulKorea's economy has been struggling with the side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China. At a time when it is important to lift Korea's growth potential, the two leading presidential candidates ― Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea and Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party ― have shown differences in their industry, science and technology and energy policies.Ahead of the March 9 presidential election, the two leading candidates are generally suggesting similar visions with regards to achieving digital transformation; strengthening the country's core industrial sectors, such as semiconductors and batteries; and speeding up the energy transformation which are all crucial for the country to turn the ser

Feb 20, 2022By Baek Byung-yeul
Lee, Yoon differ over how to support industries

Ahn drops proposal to merge campaigns, vows to finish race on his own

Presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor People's Party speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Feb. 20. Yonhap Minor People's Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo said Sunday he is dropping his offer to merge campaigns with main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and will finish the presidential race on his own.Ahn made the announcement at a press conference, saying he waited a week for a response from Yoon and decided it was "meaningless" to wait any longer.He returned to the campaign trail Saturday following three days of mourning after a local campaign chief and a bus driver died inside a campaign vehicle apparently from inhaling toxic gas from a generator powering an LED screen. The deaths came just days after Ahn had offered to select a unified opposition candidate between him and Yoon through opinion polls, sparking widespread speculation that he was preparing to drop out of the race.But Ahn said he changed his mind

Feb 20, 2022
Ahn drops proposal to merge campaigns, vows to finish race on his own

Improvement on anti-corruption indexes to help Korea attract FDI

Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) Chairperson Jeon Hyun-heui speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Government Complex in Seoul, Feb. 9. Courtesy of ACRCAnti-corruption agency chief stresses national integrity as precondition for advanced countryBy Nam Hyun-wooKorea is showing improvements in indices gauging its integrity and transparency systems, and the country's strengthened anti-corruption efforts will attract foreign investors, enabling further economic growth, according to the chief of the national anti-corruption agency.“The Korean economy is now among the world's 10 biggest economies and some experts say the country deserves to be described as a member of the Group of Eight,” Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) Chairperson Jeon Hyun-heui said during an interview with The Korea Times, Feb. 9.“It is true that Korea's economic and national status has been elevated, but it is hard to say it is an advanced country if it is corrupt or not transparent. Korea's recent improvements in global integrity indices show that

Feb 20, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Improvement on anti-corruption indexes to help Korea attract FDI

Moon steps up calls for lawmakers to swiftly approve extra budget bill

Ruling Democratic Party lawmakers visit the office of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts' chief at the National Assembly in Seoul, Feb. 18, demanding the committee hold a session to pass an extra budget bill. YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in on Friday stepped up calls for the National Assembly to swiftly approve an extra budget bill, citing "desperate" hardship facing small merchants hit by the COVID-19 restrictions. "As the situation of small merchants and self-employed people is desperate, the National Assembly should actively cooperate to resolve the difficulties of people's livelihoods by approving an extra budget bill as soon as possible," Moon told a meeting with his aides earlier in the day, according to Moon's spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. The government submitted the 14 trillion won ($11.6 billion) budget proposal to the National Assembly last month. The bill is being redrafted to increase the package to more than 16 trillion won.Moon delivered a similar message on Feb. 8, saying, "We cannot delay support for small merchants and self-employed people even for a moment." M

Feb 18, 2022
Moon steps up calls for lawmakers to swiftly approve extra budget bill

Smear campaigns reach fever pitch

Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea, greets supporters while campaigning at Peace Square in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, Friday. Joint Press Corps Lee accuses Yoon of consulting 'fortune teller'; Yoon slams Lee for using 'fascist' tacticBy Jung Da-min With the presidential race intensifying, the two leading candidates have been engaging in smear campaigns against each other, hurling abusive words such as “fortune teller” and “fascist.” Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has attacked Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party (PPP) over allegations that Yoon has been receiving political advice from an alleged fortune-teller named Geonjin ever since serving as the prosecutor general. The man had also been an “adviser” for Covana Contents, an exhibition planning firm run by Yoon's wife Kim Keon-hee.Lee said the people should not choose a leader of the country who would seek advice from a shaman on

Feb 18, 2022
Smear campaigns reach fever pitch

Ahn to resume campaigning after funerals of campaign workers

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the minor opposition People's Party, returns to his seat after delivering a eulogy at the funeral of a local campaign chief in Cheonan, 92 kilometers south of Seoul, Feb. 18. Yonhap Minor presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo will resume campaigning this weekend after attending the funerals of two campaign workers who died in an accident this week, an official said Friday.Ahn of the centrist People's Party suspended his campaign activities after a local campaign chief and a bus driver were found dead inside a campaign vehicle Tuesday apparently due to gas poisoning from a generator powering an LED screen.He attended the party member's funeral Friday morning and will travel to the southeastern city of Gimhae, Saturday morning, to attend the bus driver's funeral.On Friday afternoon, he is scheduled to pay a visit to another bus driver who was in a similar accident and has yet to regain consciousness at a hospital in Wonju, 1

Feb 18, 2022
Ahn to resume campaigning after funerals of campaign workers

Yoon leads Lee 41% to 34%: poll

Korea Times file Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is leading his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung with support of 41 percent to Lee's 34 percent, a survey showed Friday.Yoon of the conservative People Power Party gained 4 percentage points from last week, while Lee of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea lost 2 percentage points, according to the poll conducted on 1,007 adults from Tuesday to Thursday by Gallup Korea. The gap between Yoon and Lee was outside the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.Gallup Korea said Yoon's support has been on a steady rise to the 41 percent polled this week, compared with 26 percent in the first week of January. In comparison, Lee's support has hovered between 34 percent and 37 percent so far this year, Gallup Korea said. Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's Party garnered support of 11 percent, up 2 percentage points from last week. Sim Sang-jeung o

Feb 18, 2022
Yoon leads Lee 41% to 34%: poll

'3 Nos,' THAAD pit leading presidential candidates against each other

This article is the third in a series about the 2022 presidential election candidates' campaign pledges. In this article, their pledges for Korea-China relations are examined and compared. ―EDAides clarify Lee's and Yoon's visions for Korea-China relationsBy Kang Seung-wooSouth Korea's relations with China have emerged as a key issue facing the next leader to be elected on March 9 and the two leading presidential candidates have offered sharply contrasting approaches to that issue.Traditionally, presidential candidates only needed focus on dealing with the United States, an undisputed longtime ally of South Korea. But now, those in the race for the top job in government are being asked to consider how to deal with China, which has emerged as South Korea's largest trading partner. Currently, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) are the top two contenders in the March 9 presidential election. “Amid the U.S.-China confrontation, what kind of policy toward China to adopt is not easy. Previous g

Feb 17, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
'3 Nos,' THAAD pit leading presidential candidates against each other
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