Yoon 25% vs Lee 24% Two-Strong-Leader Race... Lee Nak-yeon 5% · Ahn Cheol-soo 4% [Gallup]

Assemblyman Hong Jun-pyo and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon each at 2%... Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun at 1%

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] In the preference survey for the next political leader, former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung both received double-digit support rates, maintaining a solid two-power structure.

On the 16th, Gallup Korea conducted a public opinion survey from the 13th to the 15th targeting 1,005 people nationwide aged 18 and over, asking "Who do you think is suitable as the next president?" Former Prosecutor General Yoon received 25% support, and Governor Lee of Gyeonggi Province received 24%, showing a lead. This indicates that the two-power leading structure remains unchanged from before the April 7 by-elections.

On the other hand, former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon saw a slight decline in support after the April 7 by-elections. In the survey conducted in the first week of April (March 30?April 1), Lee's support rate was 7%, but in this survey, it dropped by 2 percentage points to the 5% range. During the same period, former Prosecutor General Yoon and Governor Lee were tied at 23%.

According to Gallup's analysis, until July last year, former leader Lee was clearly ahead with a preference rate in the mid-20% range. However, in August of the same year, Governor Lee surged rapidly, forming a leading competition among ruling party figures. After the gap widened in February this year, a new leading group was formed in March due to former Prosecutor General Yoon's rapid rise.

Despite not being a current politician, former Prosecutor General Yoon has been consistently mentioned as a candidate for the next political leader. Since first exceeding 10% preference in November last year, his support rose to the 20% range last month after stepping down from the Prosecutor General position.

By age group, Governor Lee's support is high among those in their 30s and 40s (26%, 37%), while former Prosecutor General Yoon has higher support among those in their 50s and 60s and older (32%, 43%).

Others include Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party (4%), independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (both 2%), and Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun (1%). Four percent supported other figures (including about 20 people with less than 1.0% each), and 33% did not specify a particular person.

Gallup stated, "There is a large possibility of change during the remaining period until the presidential election, and since it is a free-response survey, non-politicians may also be mentioned. Therefore, the current preference rates for each figure should be seen as indicators reflecting nationwide recognition, public popularity, and issues at the time of the survey."

This survey was conducted by random sampling from the mobile phone RDD sample frame (including 15% landline RDD), with a response rate of 17% and a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Detailed information can be found on the Gallup Korea website or the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.