[AKYUNG Poll] Yoon Seok-yeol's Continued Lead... Opposition Candidate Tops Virtual Matchup, Ruling Party Candidate Advantage

3 out of 10 Citizens
"Prosecutor General Yoon Will Be Next Presidential Candidate"

Ranks 1st in Approval Across Parties
Opposition 2nd and 3rd Are Hong Joon-pyo and Yoo Seung-min

Virtual Matchup with Democratic Candidates
Leads Representative Lee Nak-yeon by 7.3%p
Leads Governor Lee Jae-myung by 3%p

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyemin and Jeon Jinyoung] Three out of ten citizens ultimately predicted that Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol will become the People Power Party's next presidential candidate. Yoon has been regarded as a leading presidential candidate in various opinion polls, and in this Asia Economy survey, he also led the support ratings across both ruling and opposition parties.

According to the poll conducted by Asia Economy through Win-G Korea Consulting from the 16th to 17th, surveying 1,009 men and women nationwide aged 18 and older, 32% responded that Yoon would "ultimately become the People Power Party's next presidential candidate." Representative Hong Joon-pyo followed with 10.7%, and former Representative Yoo Seung-min with 7.2%. Others included Won Hee-ryong (4.5%), Kim Jong-in (4.4%), and Hong Jung-wook (2.7%). The response "There is no suitable candidate" accounted for 25%. Yoon also ranked first in the Asia Economy opposition presidential candidate suitability poll conducted last November.

The perception that Yoon will be the People Power Party's next presidential candidate was highest among People Power Party supporters at 57.7%. It also recorded 53.1% among People Party supporters. Even among the so-called non-affiliated group who responded "No party support/Don't know," Yoon received 28.7% support.

Meanwhile, Yoon received balanced support from men (34.9%) and women (29.2%), and led all existing opposition candidates in support across age groups and regions. By age, support was highest among seniors aged 70 and above at 46.8%, with young age groups also showing strong preference: 22.6% for ages 18-29, 29.7% for 30s, and 26.4% for 40s. Regionally, he received 42.1% support in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, a conservative stronghold. Support in the Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong area, which includes Gongju in Chungcheongnam-do?known as Yoon’s father's hometown?was also high at 38.7%. In the Seoul metropolitan area including Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi, support was 32.7% and 31.9%, respectively.

In hypothetical matchups against Democratic Party candidates, 46.8% said they would support Yoon, leading Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon’s 39.0% by 7.8 percentage points. By age, Lee had higher support among those in their 30s (44.0%) and 40s (53.3%), while Yoon was dominant among those in their 60s (60.1%) and 70s (66.2%) and older.

In a one-on-one contest with Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, Yoon led with 45.1% compared to Lee’s 42.1%, showing a close race within the margin of error. By age, Lee showed strong support among those in their 40s (55.7%) and 30s (43.8%), indicating solid backing from younger voters under 40. Yoon had higher support among those in their 60s (57.8%) and 70 and older (67.7%). However, among those in their 50s, the race was tight with Lee at 45.3% and Yoon at 44.0%.

This survey was conducted nationwide among voters aged 18 and older on the 16th and 17th, with an overall response rate of 6.5%, totaling 1,009 respondents. The survey method was wireless ARS using 100% mobile phone virtual numbers. The sample was extracted with weighted values (cell weighting) by gender, age, and region based on the resident registration population as of the end of December 2020 from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For detailed survey information, refer to the Win-G Korea Consulting website or the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.