Amid People Power Party Turmoil, Yoon Seok-yeol Drops 7%p... NBS "Lee 35%, Yoon 29%"

Lee Jae-myung's Approval Rating Drops 3%p to 35%
Government Stability and Regime Change Theories Tied at 42%

Lee Jae-myung, Democratic Party presidential candidate (left), Yoon Seok-youl, People Power Party presidential candidate (right)

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, is leading Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, by a 6 percentage point margin in next year's presidential election support, according to a recent poll.

The joint survey conducted by four polling agencies?Embrain Public, K-Stat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research?released the results of the fourth week of December's National Barometer Survey (NBS), showing Lee at 35% and Yoon at 29%. Ahn Cheol-soo, the People's Party presidential candidate, received 6%, and Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party received 4%.

In an earlier poll, Lee had 38% support while Yoon had 36%. Although Lee's support dropped by 3%, Yoon's support fell by 7 percentage points, widening the gap between the two candidates.

Between the two polls, family-related issues such as Lee's eldest son's past gambling problems and false credentials of Yoon's wife appeared to have negatively impacted Yoon's support. Additionally, internal party conflicts, including People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok's resignation from the position of standing election committee chairman, seem to have adversely affected Yoon's approval ratings.

Analysis of the support bases for Lee and Yoon showed that Lee's supporters primarily cited the candidate's qualifications, while Yoon's supporters emphasized the need for regime change. Among Lee's supporters, 44% said they support him because of his outstanding personal qualities and abilities. Meanwhile, 69% of Yoon's supporters said they back him to bring about a change in government.

Another notable finding was that the desire for regime change and the desire for government stability both stood at 42%. Two weeks prior, the regime judgment sentiment was at 46%, marking a 4 percentage point decline.

The poll also revealed a significant increase in the proportion of non-partisan respondents (those with no preferred candidate, unsure, or no response) among people in their 20s and 30s. Among respondents in their 20s, 21% supported Lee, 18% supported Yoon, 29% had no preferred candidate, and 10% were unsure or did not respond. For those in their 30s, 31% supported Lee, 19% supported Yoon, 23% had no preferred candidate, and 11% were unsure or did not respond.

This poll was conducted from December 20 to 22 among 1,000 adults aged 18 and older nationwide. The margin of error is ±3.1% at a 95% confidence level. For more details, please refer to the website of the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission.

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