With the presidential election approaching... Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Seok-yeol's approval ratings show a close race with fluctuating leads

KSOI "Lee 43.7% vs Yoon 42.2%"
Global Research "Lee 34.1% vs Yoon 42.4%"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate (left), and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, are rehearsing before the start of the 2022 presidential candidate invitation debate jointly hosted by six broadcasting companies and organized by the Korea Journalists Association at the Maeil Business Newspaper Media Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 11th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] With the 20th presidential election just 16 days away, polls released consecutively on the 21st showed a close race between Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, with their support rates fluctuating back and forth.

According to a survey conducted by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) commissioned by TBS from the 18th to 19th among 1,002 people nationwide, Lee recorded 43.7% support, while Yoon had 42.2%. The gap between the two candidates was 1.5 percentage points, within the margin of error (±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level).

Lee's support rate rose by 3.3 percentage points from 40.4% last week, whereas Yoon's dropped by 1.3 percentage points from 43.5%. At that time, the gap between the two candidates was 3.1 percentage points, within the margin of error. Lee showed an upward trend for four consecutive weeks.

Ahn Cheol-soo, the People's Party candidate, fell by 2 percentage points to 5.8%, and Sim Sang-jung, the Justice Party candidate, dropped by 0.8 percentage points to 2.7%. Huh Kyung-young of the National Revolutionary Party had 1.7%, and Kim Dong-yeon of the New Wave party had 0.4%.

When asked whether they would continue to support their current candidate until the election day, 84.1% of respondents said they would "continue to support," while 13.5% said they "might change."

Also, President Moon Jae-in's approval rating was 47.8%, with a disapproval rating of 49.8%. The gap between positive and negative evaluations (2.0 percentage points) is the smallest since this survey began on February 19 last year.

This survey was conducted 100% via the safe number wireless automated response system (ARS) provided by the Central Election Commission, and the response rate was 9.4%.

On the afternoon of the 11th, candidates were preparing for the broadcast at the "2022 Presidential Candidate Invitation Debate" hosted by the Korea Journalists Association and jointly organized by six broadcasting companies, held at the MaeKyung Media Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. From left to right: Lee Jae-myung, Democratic Party candidate; Sim Sang-jung, Justice Party candidate; Ahn Cheol-soo, People’s Party candidate; Yoon Seok-youl, People Power Party candidate.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the other hand, a poll showed that Yoon is ahead of Lee beyond the margin of error. According to a poll conducted by Global Research commissioned by JTBC from the 19th to 20th among 1,006 adults nationwide, 42.4% of respondents chose Yoon as their preferred presidential candidate. Those supporting Lee accounted for 34.1%. This is the first time Yoon's support rate exceeded 40% in a JTBC poll.

Yoon's support rose by 2.5 percentage points compared to the same institution's survey two weeks ago, while Lee's support remained unchanged. The gap between the two candidates widened from 5.8 percentage points in the previous survey to 8.3 percentage points, which is outside the margin of error (±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level).

Ahn's support dropped by 1.7 percentage points to 6.6%, and Sim's fell by 0.1 percentage points to 3.2%. When asked whether they would continue to support their current candidate, 87.9% of respondents said they would "continue to support." This survey was conducted via telephone interviews using virtual mobile phone numbers (100%), and the response rate was 18.3%.

For detailed information on the polls, please refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission or their website.

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