Advancement of Latecomers from Both Ruling and Opposition Parties

Support rate for Lee Nak-yeon nears 20%
Opposition's Choi Jae-hyung quickly rises to 4th place in support rate

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] As the two-party dominance of ‘Yoon Seok-yeol - Lee Jae-myung’ is shaken, the rise of latecomers from both ruling and opposition parties is becoming prominent. In the ruling party, former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon is on the verge of reaching a 20% approval rating, while in the opposition party, former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung, who joined the People Power Party last week, quickly rose to 4th place in approval ratings.

On the 19th, the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI), commissioned by TBS, conducted a survey on the suitability of next presidential candidates among 1,013 men and women aged 18 and over nationwide over two days from the 16th to 17th (with a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level). Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol was recorded at 30.3%, and Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung at 25.4%. Yoon’s rating rose by 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous survey (9th-10th), while Lee’s dropped by 1.5 percentage points. During the same period, former leader Lee Nak-yeon recorded 19.3%, up 1.2 percentage points, closely chasing the two candidates, and former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung rose 3.1 percentage points from the previous week to 5.6%.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, in the suitability ratings for next presidential candidates within the progressive camp, former leader Lee Nak-yeon (23.9%) significantly narrowed the gap with Governor Lee Jae-myung from 9.1 percentage points to 3.6 percentage points. This is interpreted as the consolidation of support around former leader Lee. Governor Lee’s rating fell by 2.2 percentage points to 27.5%, and former Minister Chu Mi-ae dropped by 1 percentage point to 4.8%. Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, Assemblywoman Shim Sang-jung, and Assemblyman Kim Du-kwan all declined, while Assemblyman Park Yong-jin rose slightly by 0.1%.

In the conservative camp, former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung’s rise was remarkable. While former Prosecutor General Yoon remained unchanged at 29.1%, Choi more than doubled his rating from 4.3% to 9.0%, an increase of 4.7 percentage points, securing 3rd place. Among opposition candidates, Assemblyman Hong Joon-pyo (12.0%) dropped by 0.8 percentage points, and former Assemblyman Yoo Seung-min (8.0%) fell by 2.9 percentage points. It is interpreted that Choi absorbed these declines.

Meanwhile, despite being at the end of the administration, President Moon Jae-in’s approval rating surged to the highest level in nine months, drawing attention to whether it will affect the future presidential race. According to Realmeter’s survey on the same day (conducted from the 12th to 16th among 2,519 voters aged 18 and over, with a sampling error of ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level), President Moon’s positive evaluation of state affairs in the second week of July was 45.5%, the highest since the third week of October last year (45.6%). The Democratic Party’s approval rating (36.7%) also rose, surpassing the People Power Party (34.9%) for the first time in 20 weeks.

For detailed survey outlines and results of the two opinion polls, please refer to the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.

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