Decision on Nomination in Seoul and Busan, "Well Done" 34% vs "Wrong" 39% [Gallup]

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] A public opinion poll revealed sharply divided views on the Democratic Party of Korea's nomination decisions for the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections.

According to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea from the 3rd to the 5th of this month targeting 1,002 adults nationwide aged 18 and over, 34% of respondents said the Democratic Party's candidate nomination decision was a "good decision," while 39% said it was a "bad decision." Twenty-eight percent withheld their opinion. The gap between the two sides was 5 percentage points, within the margin of error (±3.1 percentage points).

Those who viewed the nomination decision as a "good decision" were mainly supporters of the Democratic Party (59%), progressives (54%), residents of the Gwangju and Jeolla regions (50%), and people in their 40s (47%). Conversely, those who saw it as a "bad decision" were predominantly supporters of the People Power Party (74%), conservatives (58%), residents of the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions (50%), and people in their 50s (50%). Among centrists, the evaluation leaned more toward "bad decision" (51%) than "good decision" (30%).

Meanwhile, regarding President Moon Jae-in's job performance, 43% of respondents gave a positive evaluation, while 47% gave a negative evaluation. The positive rating remained the same as the previous week, while the negative rating increased by 1 percentage point.

By age group, the positive/negative ratings were 42%/42% for those aged 18-29 (referred to as '20s'), 47%/44% for those in their 30s, 57%/34% for those in their 40s, 40%/53% for those in their 50s, and 33%/55% for those aged 60 and above.

By party support, 77% of Democratic Party supporters evaluated the president's job performance positively, while 91% of People Power Party supporters evaluated it negatively. Among those with no party affiliation, negative ratings also led (positive 20%, negative 60%). By political orientation, the positive job performance ratings were 72% among progressives, 40% among centrists, and 21% among conservatives.

Party support was surveyed as follows: Democratic Party 39%, People Power Party 20%, Justice Party 6%, and both the People Party and Open Democratic Party at 3% each.

This survey contacted 6,534 adults aged 18 and over nationwide, with a final 1,002 respondents completing the survey, resulting in a 15% response rate. The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more details, refer to the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.