The 'Blue Wave' Reaches Daegu... Kim Boo-kyum Holds Wide Lead Over Lee Jin-sook and Joo Ho-young

Hypothetical Daegu Mayoral Race: Kim Boo-kyum 44% vs. Lee Jin-sook 26%
Kim Boo-kyum 44% vs. Joo Ho-young 16%

As the Democratic Party of Korea pushes forward its largest-ever slate of candidates and the so-called “blue wave” gains momentum, a recent poll shows that former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum of the Democratic Party is leading against conservative bloc candidates.

Daegu Seomun Market. Photo by Yonhap News

According to a telephone interview survey conducted by Korea Research on behalf of KBS Daegu Broadcasting Station from April 11 to 13, 2026, targeting 1,000 Daegu residents aged 18 and over, former Prime Minister Kim held a significant lead over his rivals in hypothetical one-on-one matchups assuming a unified conservative candidate.

Double-Digit Gap in Daegu, the “Heart of Conservatism”

In a head-to-head with former Korea Communications Commission Chairperson Lee Jin-sook, Kim garnered 44% compared to Lee’s 26%. In a hypothetical contest against National Assembly Deputy Speaker Joo Ho-young, Kim received 44% while Joo trailed with 16%—both results showing double-digit leads for Kim.

However, the proportion of respondents who answered that they “support no candidate” reached 25% in the Kim vs. Lee scenario, and 33% in the Kim vs. Joo matchup, indicating that there remains a considerable number of undecided voters.

Leading in Multi-Candidate Contests as Well

Even in multi-candidate races, Kim maintained a leading approval rating in the 39% to 40% range. Assuming former People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Choo Kyung-ho as the PPP’s candidate, Kim received 39%, Lee Jin-sook 16%, Choo Kyung-ho 11%, and Joo Ho-young 8%. Among PPP candidates, only Choo Kyung-ho managed to secure a double-digit support rate in the multi-candidate scenario, while other contenders remained at 1–3%.

No clear frontrunner emerged in the People Power Party’s internal primary, either. In a poll measuring candidate suitability, former floor leader Choo Kyung-ho led with 18%, followed by Assemblyman Yoo Young-ha at 6%. Assemblyman Yoon Jae-ok and former Dong-gu District Mayor Lee Jae-man each recorded 3%, while Assemblyman Choi Eun-seok and former Assemblyman Hong Seok-joon each received 2%.

The response rate for this survey was 13.6%, and the margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Further details can be found on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.

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