Rapidly Changing Presidential Polls …NBS "Lee's Support Up 6%p…Yoon 39% - Lee 37% Close Race"

NBS Regular Public Opinion Poll
Non-response Rate Narrows to 11%, Deciding Voter Sentiment
Support for Government Stability Also on the Rise

Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Seok-youl Preparing for Debate
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The approval ratings of Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, have narrowed again within the margin of error. In the previous survey, Yoon led by a 9% gap, but now he leads Lee by only 2%.

According to a public opinion poll conducted from the 21st to the 23rd by Embrain Public, K-Stat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research, surveying 1,004 adults aged 18 and over nationwide, Yoon's approval rating was 39%, while Lee's was 37%. Yoon's approval rating dropped by 1 percentage point compared to last week's survey, but Lee's approval rating rose by 6 percentage points, narrowing the gap within the margin of error (±3.1% at a 95% confidence level). Among the active voter group, Yoon's approval rating was 41%, and Lee's was 40%.

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, received 9%, Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party got 3%, and undecided voters accounted for 11%. Besides Lee's rising approval rating, the decrease in undecided voters from 18% in last week's survey to 11% this week was notable. It appears that voters who had been observing are now making up their minds.

Regarding election prospects, Yoon led significantly with 48%, compared to Lee's 37%. However, looking at the trend, Yoon's election prospects remained steady at 48% from last week, while Lee's rose by 5 percentage points from 32% to 37%.

81% of respondents said they would continue to support their current presidential candidate, while 18% said they might change their choice. As the election approaches, voters seem to be gradually deciding their preferences. The percentage of those who would continue supporting their current candidate increased by 2 percentage points, while those open to changing their candidate decreased by 3 percentage points.

The rise of the regime stability argument also drew attention. The regime change argument fell by 1 percentage point to 49% compared to last week, while the regime stability argument rose by 3 percentage points to 41%.

For detailed survey information, please refer to the website of the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission.