Will the '3-Strong System' of 1Mal2Cho Become a Reality... An, with Double-Digit Approval Ratings, Also Faces Strong Public Opinion for Opposition Unification

NBS Survey: Ahn Cheol-soo's Double-Digit Support... Lee 36% > Yoon 28% > Ahn 12%
R&Search Shows High Support for Unification Under Ahn... Ahn 43.5% > Yoon 32.7%
Ahn Surpasses Lee in Opposition Unification... Ahn 41.6% > Lee 33.7%

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] "From the end of January to early February, around Seollal, I will form a three-power troika system (Lee Jae-myung - Yoon Seok-yeol - Ahn Cheol-soo)." (Ahn Cheol-soo, presidential candidate of the People’s Party, JTBC Newsroom interview on the 1st)

Attention is focused on whether Ahn Cheol-soo, presidential candidate of the People’s Party, will realize his pledge of a 'three-power troika' before the first calendar of the new year is torn off. This is because Yoon Seok-yeol, presidential candidate of the People Power Party, saw his approval rating drop after internal conflicts at the end of last year, while Ahn’s approval rating rose significantly. Amid discussions of opposition party candidate unification, public opinion favors unification under Ahn.

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, attended the '2022 New Year's Meeting of Small and Medium Business Owners' held at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 5th, where he announced policies related to small and medium enterprises. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the 6th, the National Barometer Survey (NBS), a joint poll by four survey firms (Korea Research, Korea SPQ Research, K-Stat, and Embrain), announced the results of a survey conducted from the 3rd to the 5th among 1,000 men and women aged 18 and over nationwide on the next presidential candidate support rates (sampling error ±3.1 percentage points at 95% confidence level). The results showed Lee at 36%, Yoon at 28%, and Ahn at 12% in order.

Lee’s support dropped by 3 percentage points compared to the previous week but remained ahead of Yoon by 8 percentage points, which is outside the margin of error, while Yoon’s support showed no change.

Among those supporting Lee (365 people), 38% said they supported him because of his outstanding personal qualities and abilities, and 25% because they liked his policies or pledges. Among those supporting Yoon (277 people), 72% said they supported him for regime change.

In the favorability survey, the candidate with the highest favorability (very or generally favorable) was Ahn at 42%, followed by Lee at 41%, Shim Sang-jung of the Justice Party at 34%, and Yoon at 32%. The unfavorable responses (very or generally unfavorable) were Yoon at 65%, Lee at 56%, and Ahn at 54%.

In the morality evaluation, Ahn was also chosen as the candidate perceived to have the highest morality. Ahn received 35% support, followed by Shim at 17%, Yoon at 14%, and Lee at 13%.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, and presidential candidates from both ruling and opposition parties attended the '2022 New Year's Meeting of Small and Medium Business Owners' held on the 5th at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Yeouido, Seoul, applauding to wish for the development of small and medium business owners. From the right: Prime Minister Kim, Chairman Kim, Yoon Seok-youl, presidential candidate of the People Power Party, Ahn Cheol-soo, presidential candidate of the People Party, Shim Sang-jung, presidential candidate of the Justice Party, and Kim Dong-yeon, presidential candidate of the New Wave Party. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Another survey released on the same day showed that in the case of opposition party unification, public opinion favors unification under Ahn rather than Yoon.

According to a survey conducted by R&Search commissioned by Maeil Business Newspaper and MBN from the 4th to 5th among 1,003 people aged 18 and over nationwide (sampling error ±3.1 percentage points at 95% confidence level), when asked, "If Yoon Seok-yeol and Ahn Cheol-soo unify, which candidate would you support?" Ahn recorded 43%, and Yoon 32.7%. The gap of 10.8 percentage points is outside the margin of error. In a question about the 'competitiveness' of the unified candidate, Ahn scored 43.3%, while Yoon scored 35.8%.

Furthermore, if Ahn runs as the unified opposition candidate, he leads Lee by 7.9 percentage points, which is outside the margin of error. In a hypothetical three-way race among Lee Jae-myung, Ahn Cheol-soo, and Shim Sang-jung, Ahn received 41.6% support, and Lee 33.7%.

For more details, please refer to the website of the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

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