 | Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung speaks during a meeting with lawmakers in Suwon, some 45 kilometers south of Seoul, on Nov. 13, 2020, in this photo provided by his office. (Gyeonggi Provincial Office)Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung topped a latest poll of potential presidential candidates released Monday, gaining significant ground compared to two months ago.
In a survey conducted by Realmeter on 2,529 people over the age of 18 from Jan. 25-29, 23.4 percent picked Lee as their favored presidential candidate.
Lee saw a 5.2 percentage point jump in favorability in comparison to two months ago. The results marked the first time Lee finished first in a presidential hopeful poll from Realmeter.
Previous front-runner Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl fell to second place, with 18.4 percent, followed by Lee Nak-yon, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), coming in third with 13.6 percent.
The Gyeonggi governor gained ground across all metrics and indices, such as age, political leanings and professions.
Gov. Lee has gained more than 10 percentage points in support from the region encompassing Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province, logging a 21.8 percent rating.
Support for the governor in the Gwangju and South Jeolla region, a traditional stronghold area for Chairman Lee, also rose 8.5 percentage points to 22.1 percent. Gov. Lee finished first in Seoul.
The governor gained strong traction in support from those in their 20s and 70s, progressives, students and manual workers. The poll had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.
A separate Realmeter survey also showed that the DP led the party approval race in Seoul, while the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) performed stronger in the southeastern port city of Busan, ahead of upcoming mayoral by-elections in both metropolises.
In a survey conducted by Realmeter on 2,513 people over the age of 18 from Jan. 25-29, the DP's approval in Seoul stood at 33.5 percent, up 6.3 percentage points from a week earlier.
The findings marked the first time the DP outpaced the main opposition in the capital in nine weeks.
The PPP, on the other hand, gained 6.9 percentage points to finish first with 35.6 percent in the Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang region.
On a national average, the DP's approval rating stood at 32.4 percent, down 0.4 percentage point, while that of the PPP rose 1.1 percentage points to 29.7 percent.
President Moon Jae-in's job approval rating, meanwhile, slid 0.5 percentage point to 42.5 percent. Moon's disapproval rating stood at 52.8 percent, also down 0.4 percentage point. (Yonhap)
