People Power Party Chungnam Chapter: "Objectivity Undermined by Poll Method and Question Order"

Serious Concerns Over Manipulating and Distorting Public Sentiment
Calls for Stricter Regulation by the National Election Commission

Controversy over fairness has arisen regarding a public opinion poll on the suitability of candidates for the Chungnam Governor, conducted ahead of the June 3 local elections.

The Chungnam Provincial Chapter of the People Power Party issued a statement on April 22, criticizing, "The possibility of distorting public opinion by manipulating the order of questions in the poll is becoming a reality."

The provincial chapter stated, "Public opinion polls are a basic infrastructure reflecting the will of the people," and added, "If a particular frame is introduced from the design stage, the objectivity and reliability of the results are fundamentally undermined."

In particular, they pointed out that in the Chungnam Governor suitability survey, questions regarding party support, evaluation of state administration, and election awareness are being asked before inquiring about candidate suitability.

Regarding this, the provincial chapter argued, "This is a classic example of the framing effect, where a specific perception is pre-imposed on respondents," and claimed, "As a result, there is a high possibility that responses regarding support for candidates will be structurally distorted."

They further emphasized, "This is not measuring public sentiment, but rather guiding it. Public opinion polls should not be reduced to a political framing tool."

Previously, in a Chungnam Governor suitability poll conducted by JoWon C&I and Research & Research on April 18-19 at the request of TJB, Assemblyman Park Soo-hyun of the Democratic Party of Korea led with 42.2%, followed by Chungnam Governor Kim Tae-heum of the People Power Party with 29.5%. Former spokesperson Lee Eun-chang of the Reform New Party recorded 0.8%. 'None' responses accounted for 18%, 'Don't know/No response' was 8.1%, and other individuals accounted for 1.4%.

The survey targeted 803 men and women aged 18 or older residing in Chungnam, using the telephone interview (CATI) method. The response rate was 14.1%, and the margin of error was ±3.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. The sample was extracted using proportional allocation by gender, age, and region, and weighting was based on the resident registration population as of the end of March 2026, as reported by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. For more details, refer to the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

The provincial chapter urged, "A fair election begins with objective data. Survey agencies must ensure neutrality in questionnaire design, and the National Election Commission must also apply strict standards to surveys with possible bias in their design."

They added, "We will continue to closely monitor and respond to ensure that the true voices of Chungnam residents are reflected without distortion."

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