[AK Poll] Lee Jae-myung Falters in Daejang-dong Black Hole, Lee Nak-yeon Closes Gap... 0.2%P Neck-and-Neck

Lee Jae-myung 33.7% Lee Nak-yeon 33.5%
Lee Nak-yeon Closely Chasing Lee Jae-myung

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The approval ratings of Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung and former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon showed a fierce neck-and-neck race within the margin of error. While Governor Lee's approval rating (33.7%) faltered amid prolonged allegations of preferential treatment in the Daejang-dong development project, former leader Lee surged to 33.5%, making the gap between the two candidates a mere 0.2 percentage points, a photo finish within the margin of error.

However, in a survey limited to Democratic Party supporters, Governor Lee exceeded the majority with 60.2%, while former leader Lee was recorded at 31.5%. The gap between the two candidates among Democratic Party supporters widened to 28.7 percentage points, significantly larger than the previous survey gap of 14.9 percentage points.

In the 'Democratic Party Presidential Candidate Suitability' survey conducted on the 25th and 26th, Governor Lee's rating rose by 4.1 percentage points to 33.7% compared to the previous survey conducted on September 11-12. However, former leader Lee increased by 9.6 percentage points to 33.5%, narrowing the gap and closely pursuing Governor Lee. Following them were Representative Park Yong-jin (5.9%), former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae (4.9%), Representative Kim Du-kwan (2.6%), other figures (2.7%), none (14.2%), and don't know (2.6%).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Looking at the data by age group, Governor Lee led in the 40s (48.4%) and 50s (35.6%). Former leader Lee was ahead of Governor Lee in the 18-29 age group (38.1%), 30s (36.3%), and 60 and above (36.9%). In the survey targeting Democratic Party supporters, Governor Lee was at 60.2%, and former leader Lee at 31.5%. Although the sample size was small, among Justice Party supporters (24 people) and Open Democratic Party supporters (38 people), Governor Lee led with 43.9% and 54.4%, respectively, compared to former leader Lee's 27.4% and 26.1%.

This survey was conducted by Asia Economy through Win-G Korea Consulting on the 25th and 26th, targeting nationwide voters aged 18 and over, with 1,016 respondents and an overall response rate of 8.4%. The survey method was 100% mobile phone virtual number via wireless ARS, and 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 January 2021 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 Survey Deliberation Commission website.