Hwang Kyo-ahn takes lead in poll of presidential candidates

Sep 23, 2019, 09:14 am

By AsiaToday reporter Lim Yoo-jin

The leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), Hwang Kyo-ahn, has taken the lead in the latest opinion poll of next presidential candidates with 26.8 percent, beating Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon with 20.7 percent. It seems Hwang is uniting the conservatives by standing at the forefront of anti-Cho Kuk rallies and shaving off his hair urging the dismissal of the controversial justice minister.

In an opinion poll conducted by R&Search from Sept. 20-21 at the request of AsiaToday, Hwang was chosen as the most favored presidential candidate, beating Lee for the first time in three months. The approval rating gap between Hwang and Lee was 6.1 percentage points, which is beyond the margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Hwang, who regained the top spot, received overwhelming support of 68.8 percent from the LKP support class. By age, he received the most support from people in their 60s and older with 40.2 percent and the least support from those in their 40s with 17.8 percent. By region, people in the TK region (Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province) showed high support for Hwang with 34.6 percent.

Lee, who is in the second place, secured solid support from the support class of the ruling Democratic Party (DP). In spite of the Cho Kuk controversy, Lee maintained his support rate of 20 percent. By age, the preference rate for Lee was the highest among people in their 40s and the lowest among those in their 60s and older. By region, Lee won support from South Jeolla Province, Gwangju and North Jeolla Province with 46.4 percent.

The most eye-catching is that Justice Minister Cho Kuk continues to be relatively popular as a prospective presidential candidate. Cho was at 12.3 percent in the poll, helping him secure the No. 3 spot. “In the competition between the progressives and conservatives, Cho’s support rate exceeding 10% seems volatile and temporary since it is under the frame that protecting Cho Kuk means protecting President Moon Jae-in,” said Kim Mi-hyun, the head of R&Search.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung was at 5 percent, securing the fourth spot. Following were former Liberty Korea Party chairman Hong Joon-pyo with 4.5 percent, former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon with 3.8 percent, former Bareunmirae Party chairman Ahn Cheol-soo with 3.8 percent, Bareunmirae Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min with 3.1 percent, and Justice Party chairwoman Sim Sang-jung with 3 percent. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyung-soo, and Bareunmirae Party chairman Sohn Hak-kyu earned approval ratings less than 2 percent.

There was a little gap in the approval ratings for the two main rival parties, with the ruling DP’s approval rating at 36.5 percent and the main opposition LKP at 32.9 percent. The gap between the two parties has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. In third and fourth place were the Justice Party with 6.2 percent and the Bareunmirae Party with 5.6 percent.

#Hwang Kyo-ahn #Lee Nak-yon #poll #presidential candidate #Cho Kuk