'Most Preferred' Lee Jae-myung, Also Ranked No.1 as 'Person I Absolutely Do Not Want to Vote For'

Ranked Overwhelmingly First in Both Categories
Analysis Suggests Failure to Absorb Public Sentiment for Regime Change

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, ranked first by an overwhelming margin in both favorability and unfavorability in a survey of next presidential candidates.

Lee Jae-myung, the party leader, and Park Chan-dae, the floor leader, along with other members of the Democratic Party of Korea, visited the Express Bus Terminal in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 24th to greet citizens for the Lunar New Year holiday. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

According to a survey conducted by the polling agency 'Research View' from the 29th to the 31st of last month targeting 1,000 men and women aged 18 and over nationwide, and announced on the 3rd, Lee Jae-myung led the preference for the next presidential candidate with 45%. Notably, Lee also ranked first in the category of "people I absolutely do not want to vote for," receiving 40% of the votes.

In the favorability survey, Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo followed with 20%, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon with 8%, and former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo each with 6%. The unfavorability rankings were Minister Kim Moon-soo at 13%, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo at 11%, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon at 8%, former leader Han Dong-hoon at 7%, and Reform New Party lawmaker Lee Jun-seok at 6%.

This survey was conducted via ARS automated response method, with a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and a response rate of 5.8%. For more details, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

Overcoming the high unfavorability as much as the high approval rating remains a challenge for Lee. In other polls, while voices calling for a regime change in the next presidential election range from 40% to 50%, Lee's approval ratings often remain stuck within a narrow range. This is why there is analysis that Lee has not fully absorbed the public opinion for regime change even amid the indictment and prosecution of President Yoon Seok-youl.

Im Jong-seok, a prominent figure in the opposition's non-mainstream faction and former presidential chief of staff, posted a Facebook message titled "Reflection reveals the answer," directly criticizing Lee's leadership. He said, "During the last presidential election, the Democratic Party did not conduct an official evaluation of the election. More precisely, it could not do so," adding, "The political responsibility for the defeat was shifted to the Moon Jae-in administration, and even now they blame the Moon administration. They have turned a blind eye to the fact that President Moon's approval rating exceeded 40% at the end of his term and that his government was the only one in history without a lame-duck period." He emphasized, "The Democratic Party must be chosen by the people for the judgment on Yoon Seok-youl to be complete," and expressed hope that "this time, we are more desperate."