Next Gyeongnam Governor, Superintendent of Education, and Changwon Mayor Support Ratings: 'Kim Du-kwan, Park Jong-hoon, Heo Seong-moo' Leading

Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Government.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Ahead of the 8th local elections on June 1, the latest opinion poll for the next Governor of Gyeongnam Province, Superintendent of Gyeongnam Provincial Office of Education, and Mayor of Changwon shows that Congressman Kim Du-kwan (Democratic Party, Yangsan-eul), Superintendent Park Jong-hoon, and Mayor Heo Seong-moo have the highest approval ratings.

This opinion poll was conducted by Korea Research, commissioned by KBS Changwon Broadcasting Headquarters, from December 27 to 29 last year. It surveyed 1,610 men and women aged 18 and over in Gyeongnam Province through telephone interviews conducted by interviewers. The response rate was 17.1%, with a sampling error of ±2.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

For the Gyeongnam Governor candidates, Congressman Kim received 13.8% support, while Park Wan-su of the People Power Party received 8.3%.

Following were People Power Party Congressman Cho Hae-jin with 4%, Congressman Yoon Han-hong 3.9%, former National Assembly Vice Speaker Lee Ju-young 3.7%, Justice Party leader Yeo Young-guk 3%, Democratic Party Congressman Min Hong-chul 2.4%, former People Power Party Congressman Kim Jae-kyung 2%, Congressman Yoon Young-seok 1.8%, Democratic Party Yang Moon-seok, Tongyeong-Goseong Committee Chair 1.2%, Han Kyung-ho, Jinju-eul Committee Chair 1%, and Gong Min-bae, Provincial Party Advisor 0.8%.

When grouped by party, the People Power Party candidates received 23.7% of responses, and Democratic Party candidates combined received 19.2%. Those who responded that there was no suitable candidate accounted for 33.8%, and 18% did not respond.

Regarding the urgent issues the next Governor of Gyeongnam should address, 46.3% of respondents chose "industrial development and job creation in shipbuilding, machinery, automobile sectors, etc."

Next were "Construction of the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (Bu-Ul-Gyeong) Megacity" at 13.3%, "Early commencement and completion of the Southern Inland Railroad" at 12.2%, "Promotion of Gyeongnam Innovation City Season 2" at 9.8%, and "Early commencement of Gadeok New Airport and surrounding development" at 6.7%, in that order.

For the suitability of candidates for Superintendent of Gyeongnam Provincial Office of Education, among the six candidates mentioned, current Superintendent Park Jong-hoon leads with 21.1%.

Conservative candidates include Kim Sang-kwon, Standing Representative of the School Reform Movement Headquarters, former Sancheong County Governor Heo Gi-do, Changwon University Professors Kim Myung-yong and Choi Hae-beom, each receiving support in the 2% range, and Jin Young-min, Chairman of the Gyeongnam Education Office Public Officials Labor Union, at 1.9%. Four out of ten respondents said there was no suitable candidate for Superintendent.

For the next Mayor of Changwon, current Mayor Heo Seong-moo of the Democratic Party ranked first with 24.6% suitability.

Following were Democratic Party Seongsan Committee Chair Lee Heung-seok at 3%, People Power Party Provincial Party Vice Chairman Jang Dong-hwa at 2.9%, Justice Party City Councilor Noh Chang-seop at 2.6%, People Power Party Media Special Committee member Jo Cheong-rae at 2%, Provincial Party Spokesperson Kim Sang-gyu at 1.9%, Provincial Party Sports Committee Chair Heo Young at 1.8%, Provincial Party Advisory Committee member Kang Yong-beom at 1.7%, Chief Specialist Cha Joo-mok at 1.6%, Provincial Party Spokesperson Lee Jae-hwan at 1.4%, and Provincial Party Spokespersons Kim Seong-yeop and Song Byung-kwon each receiving less than 1%.

The survey questionnaire and results can be found on the KBS Changwon Broadcasting Headquarters website and the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

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