[AKYUNG Poll] Who is Suitable for the Next President... Yoon Seok-yeol > Lee Jae-myung + Lee Nak-yeon

Yoon Preferred by All Age Groups Except 40s
Highest at 55.3% Among 70 and Older
Political Moves Begin with Early Voting

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Koo Chae-eun, Lee Hyun-joo] Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol began his first public appearance since stepping down as Prosecutor General by participating in early voting for the April 7 by-elections on the 2nd. His presidential approval rating was found to be higher than the combined support rates of Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung and Standing Election Committee Chair Lee Nak-yeon.

When asked "Who is the most suitable person for the next president?", former Prosecutor General Yoon received 36.3%, ranking first. He was followed by Governor Lee (21.6%) and Chair Lee (12.9%). Yoon received balanced support from both men (39.9%) and women (32.9%) and was the most preferred candidate across all age groups except those in their 40s. Notably, support for Yoon increased with age, with the highest approval among seniors aged 70 and above (55.3%), followed by those in their 60s (48.4%), 50s (39.1%), 30s (28.8%), and 20s (28.5%). The 40s age group was the only one where Governor Lee's support (38.3%) surpassed Yoon's.

Among those who responded that they do not support President Moon Jae-in, 59.4% supported former Prosecutor General Yoon, while only 6.7% of those who support the president backed Yoon. By political party, 68.4% of People Power Party supporters favored Yoon. Although the sample size was small, 19.6% of Justice Party supporters also supported Yoon, exceeding the support rate for Justice Party member Shim Sang-jung (17.7%). Conversely, among Democratic Party supporters, Governor Lee led with 45.1%, while Yoon's support was only 3.8%. The trend of support for Yoon was similar in Busan, where 42.2% of citizens supported him, followed by Governor Lee at 18.0% and Chair Lee at 9.9%.

Meanwhile, former Prosecutor General Yoon appeared to be intensifying his political activities starting with early voting on this day. On the morning of the same day, Yoon cast his early vote at Namgajwa 1-dong Community Center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, together with his father, Yoon Ki-jung, an emeritus professor at Yonsei University. Yoon's camp had informed reporters the day before about the early voting location and time, leading to expectations of a "political statement." However, just before voting, they sent another notice to reporters stating that "Yoon judged that it is quite appropriate to refrain from political acts as a private citizen."

According to the Public Official Election Act, the publication of opinion poll results is prohibited from the 1st until 8 p.m. on the 7th, but it is allowed to publish or report on surveys conducted until the 31st of the previous month during this period.

This opinion poll, commissioned by Asia Economy to Win-G Korea Consulting, was conducted on 1,020 men and women aged 18 and over residing in Seoul from the 30th to 31st of last month. It was conducted using 100% mobile phone virtual number ARS method, with the sample based on the resident registration population statistics from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety as of the end of January. Weighting was applied by gender, age, and region (cell weighting). The response rate was 6.8%, and the sampling error was ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

The Busan citizen survey was conducted on 1,012 men and women aged 18 and over residing in Busan Metropolitan City from the 30th to 31st of last month, also using 100% mobile phone virtual number ARS method. The sample was based on the resident registration population statistics from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety as of the end of January, with weighting by gender, age, and region (cell weighting). The response rate was 12.5%, and the sampling error was ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For detailed survey information, refer to the Win-G Korea Consulting website or the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

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