Lee Jae-myung 33%, Yoon Seok-youl 32.5% Neck-and-neck Within Margin of Error... 87.1% "Will Watch TV Debate"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate (right), and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A public opinion poll revealed that the approval ratings of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, are in a neck-and-neck race within the margin of error during the early Lunar New Year holiday period.

According to a survey conducted by Southern Post on behalf of CBS from the 28th to 29th, targeting 1,002 men and women nationwide aged 18 and over, in a multi-candidate race, Lee's approval rating was 33%, while Yoon's was 32.5%.

Compared to the same survey conducted by the same company a week earlier on the 21st to 22nd, Lee's rating dropped by 1 percentage point, while Yoon's remained the same. Following them, Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, had a 9.4% approval rating, and Sim Sang-jung, the presidential candidate of the Justice Party, had 2.5%.

In terms of perceived electability, Lee and Yoon also showed a fierce competition. Yoon was slightly ahead with 39.5%, while Lee had 39.1%. Ahn’s perceived electability was 2.3%, showing a gap compared to his approval rating.

Interest in the TV debates was also high. When asked whether TV debates are important in deciding their preferred candidate, 33.4% of respondents answered "very much so," and 42.1% answered "somewhat so."

Regarding the intention to watch the TV debates, 46.6% said "definitely will watch," and 40.5% said "will watch if possible."

Regarding the unification issue between Yoon and Ahn, which is the biggest point of interest in the opposition presidential race, support and opposition were nearly even, with 44.3% in favor and 43.4% against.

The Southern Post survey has a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. This survey was conducted via telephone interviews (100% wireless), and the response rate was 20.5%. For more details about the survey, please refer to the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.

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