[Akyeong Poll] Whoever Runs in Opposition Unity Will Defeat Park Young-sun

More than Half Say "Yoon Seok-yeol's Midterm Resignation Was the Right Thing"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] A public opinion poll of Seoul citizens showed that whether Ahn Cheol-soo or Oh Se-hoon is chosen as the unified opposition candidate, they lead the ruling party candidate Park Young-sun by about 10 percentage points. Regarding former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl's mid-term resignation, more than half responded that it was a 'good decision,' while about 30% viewed it as a 'bad decision.' Opinions that Yoon's resignation will affect the Seoul mayoral election also exceeded the majority, indicating it will be a significant variable in the future political landscape.

The poll was conducted by Asia Economy through Win-G Korea Consulting on 1,002 eligible voters residing in Seoul from the 6th to 7th of this month. In a hypothetical two-way contest, Oh, the People Power Party candidate, received 49.3% support, leading the Democratic Party candidate Park, who received 39.5%, by 9.8 percentage points. If unified with Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party, Ahn received 49.2% and Park 38.8%, showing a 10.4 percentage point difference.

Oh's support rose after defeating former lawmaker Na Kyung-won in the People Power Party primary, and he received 32.6% in suitability as the conservative opposition unified candidate, similar to Ahn's 33.3%. The unification negotiations are expected to be intense and contentious.

When asked about all candidates, Park received the highest response at 30.3%, followed by Oh Se-hoon at 27.9%, Ahn Cheol-soo at 24.7%, and Kim Jin-ae at 4.1%. Cho Jung-hoon of the Transition Korea party, who competed with Park for unification, received only 0.7%.

Regarding the appropriateness of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl's mid-term resignation, 53.7% responded that it was a 'good decision,' while 29.8% said it was a 'bad decision.' On the impact of Yoon's resignation on the Seoul mayoral by-election, 57.5% said it 'would have an effect,' while 36.2% said it 'would not.'

Yoon's resignation strongly fuels the momentum for regime judgment, and if he expresses support for the conservative opposition, it is expected to further tip the scales. This is an awkward situation for the ruling party.

Regarding President Moon Jae-in, 46.7% responded that they 'support' him, while 49.9% said they 'do not support' him. Party support was as follows: Democratic Party 33.0%, People Power Party 27.3%, People’s Party 7.7%, Open Democratic Party 6.4%, and Justice Party 4.8%.

This survey was conducted on 1,002 men and women aged 18 or older residing in Seoul, using 100% mobile phone virtual number ARS method. The sample was based on the resident registration population statistics from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety as of the end of January, with weighting applied by gender, age, and region (cell weighting). The response rate was 8.3%, and the sampling error was ±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.