Democratic Party Namyangju Mayoral Primary a Nail-Biter... Fierce Neck-and-Neck Race Between Kim Han-jung and Wonho Lee

Firm Two-Way Race Emerges in Namyangju Mayoral Primary
Wonho Lee Gains Momentum Among Voters in Their 40s, 50s, and Lee Jae-myung Supporters
Razor-Thin Margins in Both Candidate Suitability and Overall Support

Wonho Lee, Preliminary Candidate for Mayor of Namyangju City. Provided by Preliminary Candidate Wonho Lee

The Democratic Party primary race for Mayor of Namyangju City, Gyeonggi Province, has emerged as a fiercely competitive contest that is difficult to predict.

In recent public opinion polls, Wonho Lee, a preliminary candidate for Mayor of Namyangju City, has formed a two-way rivalry with former lawmaker Hanjung Kim in both support rates for the next mayor and candidate suitability, significantly impacting the dynamics of the party's primary election.

According to the survey results, Wonho Lee recorded 13.6% in overall support, while Hanjung Kim garnered 14.6%, narrowing the gap to just 1.0 percentage point. Regarding the Democratic Party candidate suitability, Wonho Lee stood at 12.6% and Hanjung Kim at 14.0%, a slim margin of 1.4 percentage points. Both indicators fall within the margin of sampling error (±4.4 percentage points), effectively making it a statistical tie, while the gap between these two and the rest of the candidates is clear, solidifying the strong two-way structure between Wonho Lee and Hanjung Kim.

Notably, the most remarkable aspect of this poll is the strong performance of Wonho Lee among voters in their 40s and 50s, who are the Democratic Party's core supporters and have a high primary voting turnout. In terms of Democratic Party candidate suitability, Wonho Lee received 22.2% support among voters in their 40s, leading Hanjung Kim (13.8%) by a significant margin of 8.4 percentage points. In the 50s age group, Wonho Lee led with 14.6% versus Hanjung Kim's 13.3%. This suggests that Wonho Lee has firmly established a leadership position among the middle-aged generations, who are decisive in shaping the party's direction.

Wonho Lee's camp stated, "This poll reflects not just past name recognition but also the aspirations of Democratic Party members seeking 'competent change.' We will demonstrate through our abilities that, based on overwhelming support from voters in their 40s and 50s and supporters of Party Leader Jae-myung Lee, we are the only sure-win candidate for victory in the general election."

Ultimately, the upcoming primary is likely to hinge not just on name recognition but on which candidate can best mobilize the actual voting base.

This survey was commissioned by Joongbu Ilbo and conducted by Daily Research Co., Ltd. over two days, from March 8 to 9. The survey targeted 502 men and women aged 18 and older residing in Namyangju City.

The survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire through both landline RDD and mobile ARS with virtual numbers provided by telecom operators. Mobile responses accounted for 84% and landline for 16%, with a response rate of 2.8%.

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