Lee Receives Overwhelming Support from Voters in Their 40s and 50s... "Idaenam" Turn Away

Analysis of Exit Polls by Major Broadcasters in the 21st Presidential Election by Generation
Kim Leads Among Those in Their 60s and Older... Lee Junseok Tops Among Men in Their 20s

The age group that showed the strongest support for President Lee Jae Myung was the so-called "democratization generation," those in their 40s and 50s, with exit poll predictions indicating support rates of around 70% for both men and women. The lowest predicted support rate by age and gender was among men in their 20s, often referred to as "Idaenam."

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae Myung, who is expected to be confirmed as the 21st president, waves to supporters as he leaves after visiting the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul on June 4, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyun Min

According to the joint exit poll predictions from the three major terrestrial broadcasters on June 3, the age group that supported President Lee Jae Myung the most in the 21st presidential election was those in their 40s, with a support rate of 72.7%. In this age group, Kim Moon Soo, the People Power Party candidate, received 21.0%, and Lee Jun Seok, the Reform New Party candidate, received 5.3%, showing a significant gap with President Lee.

Among those in their 50s, President Lee also received 69.8% support, more than double the rate of Kim Moon Soo, who was the second most supported candidate in this age group at 25.9%. President Lee enjoyed a balanced support rate of around 70% among both men and women in their 40s and 50s.

In the 20s age group, there was a significant gender gap in support rates. Overall, President Lee's predicted support rate among those in their 20s was 41.3%, higher than Kim Moon Soo (30.9%) and Lee Jun Seok (24.3%). However, among women in this age group, the support rate for President Lee was 58.1%, while among men it was only 24%, which was lower than Lee Jun Seok (37.2%) and Kim Moon Soo (36.9%).

Political commentator Park Sang Byung stated, "It was expected that those in their 40s and 50s would support the Democratic Party, and these days, even those who are 65 years old (the college class of 1980), considered the first generation of the 86 generation, can be seen as a fully progressive group." Regarding the gender gap in support among those in their 20s, he analyzed, "As competition has intensified and due to feminist policies, men in their 20s have become more conservative, feeling a sense of deprivation, alienation, or frustration."

Among those in their 60s, Kim Moon Soo received 48.9%, closely competing with President Lee, who received 48.0%. Among those aged 70 and above, Kim Moon Soo was predicted to receive 62.6%, President Lee 36.2%, and Lee Jun Seok 1.0%.

Meanwhile, although the exit poll by the three major broadcasters predicted President Lee's vote share at 51.7%, his actual vote share was 49.42%, falling short of the majority. This has led to analysis suggesting the influence of "shy Kim Moon Soo" voters. Political commentator Lee Jong Hoon said, "There were shy conservatives who avoided responding even in exit polls," and added, "The public may have sought a kind of golden ratio to prevent any single candidate from running away with the race."