The Seoul Economic Daily reported on March 31st that the Democratic Party of Korea’s support has surpassed the People’s Power Party outside the margin of error, according to a recent poll.
The Realmeter poll, commissioned by Energy Economy News and conducted from March 26th to 28th with 1,510 respondents aged 18 and older nationwide, showed the People’s Power Party’s support at 36.1% and the Democratic Party’s at 47.3%. Compared to the previous week’s survey, the People’s Power Party’s support decreased by 3.9 percentage points, while the Democratic Party’s support increased by 3.7 percentage points. The gap between the two parties widened significantly to 11.2 percentage points, moving outside the margin of error. The New Reform Party recorded 3.7%, the Reform Innovation Party 2.3%, and the Progressive Party 1.0%. The percentage of voters without a preferred party was 7.9%.
In the survey for preferred ruling power for the next presidential election, 57.1% favored a “change in government by the opposition,” while 37.8% supported the “continuation of the current ruling party.” The margin between these responses was 19.3 percentage points, widening beyond the margin of error from the previous week.
In the poll for suitable candidates for the next presidential election, Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, maintained a leading position with 49.5%. Other candidates included Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo with 16.3%, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo with 7.1%, former leader of the People’s Power Party Han Dong-hoon with 6.7%, and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon with 4.8%.
Lee also showed a substantial lead in direct matchups. In a hypothetical head-to-head with Minister Kim, Lee led 54.1% to 28.5%. Against Mayor Oh, Lee stood at 54.5% to Oh’s 23.0%; against Mayor Hong, Lee led 54.0% to 23.5%; and against former leader Han, Lee was ahead 54.3% to 17.2%. The widening gap compared to two weeks ago is attributed to the increase in support following Lee’s acquittal in the appeals trial for election law violations.
The survey was conducted using an automated response method on mobile (100%), with a response rate of 6.4%. The margin of error is ±2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. More details can be found on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission’s website.