[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol ranked third in the next presidential candidate preference survey, recording double-digit preference. Following the downfall of former Future United Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn, the prominent opposition candidate who could hold the conservative base has disappeared, drawing attention to Prosecutor General Yoon, who has become the center of controversy targeted by the ruling party.
According to Realmeter's survey commissioned by OhmyNews, conducted from the 22nd to the 26th targeting 14 major politicians from both ruling and opposition parties, Prosecutor General Yoon recorded 10.1%, placing third behind Lee Nak-yeon of the Democratic Party of Korea (30.8%) and Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province (15.6%), announced on the 30th. This is the highest preference recorded among opposition candidates.
In particular, 23.9% of Future United Party supporters and 15.9% of conservatives preferred Prosecutor General Yoon in the survey. Among those who negatively evaluate the president's state affairs performance, he recorded 21.4%. All are ranked first within their respective groups.
Looking at Prosecutor General Yoon's preference by region, Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong (18.0%) and Daegu and Gyeongbuk (14.1%) showed higher figures than the overall average (10.1%). Following were Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam at 10.0%, Seoul at 9.4%, and Gyeonggi and Incheon at 8.3%. Gwangju and Jeolla recorded the lowest at 5.4%.
By age group, the 60s (17.9%) and 50s (11.9%) showed relatively high preference. The 30s followed with 9.3%, those aged 70 and above at 8.8%, 40s at 7.6%, and 18-29 years old at 6.1%.
Prosecutor General Yoon is at odds with the government and ruling party over current issues such as the investigation of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk's family, the investigation of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, allegations of the Blue House's interference and directive investigation in the Ulsan mayoral election, and the 'prosecutor-media collusion' case. These are also issues fiercely debated between the ruling and opposition parties. In effect, Prosecutor General Yoon stands at the forefront of the opposition. This is why conservative interest inevitably focuses on him.
It is expected that the more the ruling party intensifies its offensive against Prosecutor General Yoon, the more his presence will be highlighted. There are cautious predictions that Yoon will play a role in preventing the defection of conservative supporters until the next presidential election.
With Prosecutor General Yoon's emergence, the preference for other conservative opposition candidates has relatively declined. Independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo fell by 1.1 percentage points from last month to 5.3%, remaining in fourth place, and former leader Hwang dropped by 2.0 percentage points to 4.8%, ranking fifth.
Former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon recorded 4.4%, down 0.3 percentage points, ranking sixth; Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, dropped 1.0 percentage point to 3.9%, ranking seventh; and Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong fell 0.2 percentage points to 2.7%, ranking eighth.
Others include Sim Sang-jung, leader of the Justice Party (2.5%) in ninth place; Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon (2.4%) in tenth; former Future United Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min (2.3%) in eleventh; Governor Kim Kyung-soo of Gyeongnam and former Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Boo-kyum (1.7%) tied for twelfth; and former Presidential Chief of Staff Lim Jong-seok (1.5%) in fourteenth place.
This survey contacted 61,356 adults aged 18 and over nationwide, with a final 2,537 respondents completing the survey, recording a 4.1% response rate. The sampling error is ±1.9 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For detailed information, refer to the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.
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