An's Approval Ratings Continue to Rise... "At the Crossroads: Yoon's Alternative or a Third Choice?"

OhmyNews-Realmeter Poll Shows Ahn Cheol-soo's Support Up 1.8 Percentage Points to 12.9%
Yoon Seok-youl's Support Also Rises Amid Upward Trend

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, stands at a crossroads: is he an alternative to Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, or a new choice for voters tired of the two leading candidates? Ahn faces a critical juncture.

One path is to continue his rising approval ratings and form a three-way race, while the other is to step back into a 2-strong, 1-middle position. According to a public opinion poll conducted by Realmeter on behalf of OhmyNews and released on the 17th (survey period: 9th to 14th, nationwide, 3,031 men and women aged 18 and over), Ahn’s approval rating rose by 1.8 percentage points from the previous week to 12.9%. Although the steep rise seen earlier this year has somewhat slowed, the upward trend continues.

Many interpret Ahn’s rising approval as a reflection of the decline in Yoon’s support. Naturally, with the resolution of internal party conflicts involving Lee Jun-seok, the People’s Party leader, which had previously lowered Yoon’s approval ratings, Ahn now faces a test. If Yoon recovers his support, Ahn will likely have to give up some of his approval, and the so-called ‘Anpung (安風)’ will subside.

However, this recent poll shows that despite Yoon’s recovery, Ahn’s upward momentum continued. This suggests that Ahn’s presidential campaign may be gaining an independent support base beyond just benefiting from Yoon’s decline. According to Realmeter’s analysis, Ahn’s support among centrist voters notably increased by 4.9 percentage points (from 12.9% to 17.8%). This indicates that Ahn’s strategy of emphasizing his position as a centrist candidate has had some effect.

This trend was also confirmed in a Gallup poll released on the 14th (conducted from the 11th to the 13th, nationwide, 1,001 adults aged 18 and over). In this poll, Yoon’s support rose by 5 percentage points to 31%, and Ahn’s increased by 2 percentage points to 17%, showing a simultaneous upward trend. A noteworthy point is the shift among undecided voters who had previously expressed ‘no opinion.’ The undecided group, which had been in the mid-teens percentage range in previous polls, decreased to 10%. For detailed information on the polls cited in this article, please refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.