Public opinion poll's list of presidential hopefuls shows shifting political landscape

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Acting President Han Duck-soo was included for the first time in a public opinion poll on presidential hopefuls amid growing calls within the People Power Party (PPP) for him to run in the next election.

Han was the preferred future political leader for 2 percent of respondents in a new poll released by Gallup Korea on Friday. This figure was the same as PPP lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, and Lee Jun-seok, a presidential hopeful from the New Reform Party.

Calls to draft Han for the presidential race have been spreading within the PPP, which lacks a clear front-runner.

Han had reportedly told people around him not to even mention the word “presidency.” However, during his phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, he said he was “still considering” due to “various demands and circumstances,” though he “had made no decision yet.” His response, when asked if he was thinking about running, was seen as a shift in tone.

“Generally, a preference rating of at least 5 percent is needed for a candidate to draw serious attention from voters,” said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University. “We’ll have to watch how things develop.”

In the same survey, Lee Jae-myung, former leader of the Democratic Party (DP), topped the list at 37 percent. He was followed by Kim Moon-soo, former Labor Minister, at 9 percent; Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo at 5 percent; and former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon at 4 percent.

Former PPP lawmaker Yoo Seong-min and former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon each garnered one percent. Thirty percent of respondents withheld their opinion, and 4 percent named other figures.

Both the DP and PPP are preparing for internal primaries. Among DP supporters, Lee Jae-myung dominated with 81 percent support. PPP supporters preferred Kim Moon-soo at 27 percent, Hong Joon-pyo at 14 percent, and Han Dong-hoon at 13 percent. Another 27 percent withheld their opinion.

In terms of party support, the DP stood at 41 percent, the PPP at 30 percent, the Rebuilding Korea Party and New Reform Party at 3 percent each, the Progressive Party at one percent, and non-affiliated voters at 20 percent.

The DP’s figure was unchanged from the previous week, while the PPP’s support fell by 5 percentage points.

Gallup Korea said the widening gap between the two major parties was likely due to “the fallout from the Constitutional Court’s decision on April 4 to remove President Yoon from office.”

Regarding Yoon’s impeachment ruling, 69 percent of respondents said it was the “right decision,” while 25 percent said it was the “wrong decision.”

Asked what the next president’s top priority should be in a question where multiple responses were allowed, 48 percent of respondents chose “economic recovery and revitalization,” followed by “national unity and conflict resolution” at 13 percent.

The survey was conducted through interviews by telephone surveyors using randomly generated mobile phone numbers.

The contact rate was 38.2 percent, with a response rate of 14.9 percent. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. More details can be found on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. 

BY KIM MIN-WOOK [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]