[22nd General Election Poll] Gwangju Gwangsan-eul, Notable Advances by Challengers

During the legislative process of the complete removal of prosecutorial investigation rights (Geomsu Wanbak), Min Hyung-bae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who sparked controversy over a disguised party defection, returned to the party last April and challenged for re-election. In the Gwangsan-gu (Eul) electoral district of Gwangju Metropolitan City, where new candidates have emerged to block him, the incumbent lawmaker's stronghold remains firm. However, recently, with preliminary candidates Kim Seong-jin, Jeong Jae-hyeok, and Choi Chi-hyun effectively declaring a unification, the progress of Democratic Party candidates other than Min stands out compared to a public opinion poll conducted about a month ago by KBS Gwangju Broadcasting Station commissioned to Gallup Korea.

From the left in the photo: Kim Seong-jin, Min Hyeong-bae, Jeong Jae-hyeok, Choi Chi-hyun, candidates for Gwangsan-gu (Eul), Gwangju. (In alphabetical order)

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According to a public opinion poll conducted by Daily Research Co., Ltd., a professional polling agency commissioned by Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, from the 30th to the 31st of last month in the Gwangsan-gu (Eul) electoral district of Gwangju, the support rates for members of the National Assembly were as follows: Min Hyung-bae 38.6%, Choi Chi-hyun preliminary candidate 16.4%, Kim Seong-jin preliminary candidate 13.7%, and Jeong Jae-hyeok preliminary candidate 3.7%.

Following them were Jeon Ju-yeon preliminary candidate at 2.3%, Ahn Tae-wook preliminary candidate at 1.6%, and Kim Yong-jae preliminary candidate at 1.4%. Those who support no candidate accounted for 12.9%, those unsure 6.3%, and others 3.2%.

In the suitability survey for Democratic Party candidates, Min Hyung-bae received 40.1%, Choi Chi-hyun 18.3%, Kim Seong-jin 15.7%, and Jeong Jae-hyeok 6.2%.

When asked about the criteria for choosing a candidate in this general election, policy and pledges ranked highest at 39.1%, followed by morality and integrity at 20.2%, experience and ability at 20.1%, party affiliation at 8.1%, and influence on the central government at 5.4%.

Regarding the re-endorsement of the incumbent lawmaker, the results were close: 45.4% said they would support him again, while 44.5% said they would support another candidate.

This survey was conducted by Daily Research Co., Ltd. over two days from January 30 to 31, commissioned by Asia Economy (Honam Reporting Headquarters), targeting 500 men and women aged 18 or older residing in the Gwangsan-gu (Eul) electoral district of Gwangju Metropolitan City. The survey method was wireless ARS telephone survey, and the selection method of respondents was 100% mobile phone virtual numbers provided by telecommunications companies. The final response rate was 7.5%, and the sampling error was ±4.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Weighting was applied by gender, age, and region based on the resident registration population data from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety as of December 2023 (cell weighting). For detailed survey outlines and results, please refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

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