**49.1% for Change of Government, 46% for Extension, 3.1% Point Gap**
**Support: People Power Party 45.4%, Democratic Party 41.7%, 3.7% Point Gap**
A survey result released on the 27th shows that the opinion for a change of government and an extension of the current government is in a close race within the margin of error. Realmeter, commissioned by Energy Economy Newspaper, conducted a survey on the preferred ruling party for the next presidential election from January 23 to 24. It surveyed 1,002 eligible voters aged 18 and over nationwide, and showed that 49.1% preferred a change of government by the opposition, slightly ahead of the 46% who preferred an extension of the ruling party. 4.8% responded they were unsure.
Compared to last week’s survey, support for a change of government increased by 2.9 points, while support for an extension decreased by 2.6 points. Last week, the extension was ahead by 2.4 points, but this time, the change of government leads by 3.1 points, keeping the gap within the margin of error for two consecutive weeks.
Regionally, the extension of government was favored in Daegu-Gyeongbuk (67% extension, 29.1% change), Chungcheong (57.3%, 39.8%), and Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (53.5%, 40.7%). However, in Honam (17.7%, 76.2%) and Incheon-Gyeonggi (40.8%, 54.7%), the change of government was more preferred. In Seoul, support was close, with 47.6% for an extension and 49.1% for a change.
By age, the extension was more favored among those in their 60s (60.5% extension, 34.0% change) and those aged 70 and over (56.8%, 38.1%), while the change was preferred by those in their 40s (34.7%, 61.5%) and 50s (37.6%, 56.4%).
Among People Power Party supporters, 92.9% favored an extension, while 94.3% of Democratic Party supporters favored a change. In the non-affiliated group, two times more (52.4%) preferred a change over an extension (25.0%).
Support for political parties was registered as 45.4% for People Power, and 41.7% for the Democratic Party. Support for People Power decreased by 1.1 points compared to the previous week’s survey, while the Democratic Party increased by 2.7 points. The Progressive Party and the Reform New Party were at 1% each, and 5.4% were unaffiliated.
This survey was conducted using automatic response methods via mobile (97%) and landline (3%), with a response rate of 8.7%. More details can be found on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission’s website.