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On April 20, Kim Moon-soo emerged as the front-runner in the ruling People Power Party’s (PPP) presidential primary race, securing 28% support ahead of the party’s national convention scheduled for May 3 to select its final candidate.

According to a poll commissioned by ASIATODAY and conducted by the Korea Opinion & Polling Research Association (KOPRA) on April 18–19, Kim topped the list when 888 respondents from PPP supporters and unaffiliated voters were asked which candidate was best suited to become the party’s presidential nominee. He was followed closely by Hong Joon-pyo at 20% and Han Dong-hoon at 19%.

Na Kyung-won and Ahn Cheol-soo came in fourth and fifth with 10% and 6% support, respectively, while Yang Hyang-ja, Yoo Jeong-bok, and Lee Cheol-woo each received 1%. Thirteen percent of respondents said “none,” while 3% were undecided.

By age group, Hong Joon-pyo led among voters in their 20s with 32%, followed by Kim Moon-soo (17%) and Han Dong-hoon (14%). Among those in their 30s, Hong again ranked first with 28%, followed by Kim (16%) and Han (12%).

In contrast, Kim enjoyed overwhelming support among older voters. Among those aged 70 or older, Kim garnered 40%, followed by Han at 25% and Hong at 15%. Kim also led among voters in their 60s with 34%, while Han followed with 26%. Na and Hong were tied at 11% in this group.

Regionally, Kim led in the Daegu–North Gyeongsang region with 34%, followed by Hong (25%) and Han (15%). In the Busan–Ulsan–South Gyeongsang area, Kim recorded 29% and Hong 27%, making it a close race. Han came in at 19% and Na at 11%, while Ahn trailed with 4%.

In the Daejeon–Sejong–Chungcheong region, a traditional swing vote area, Han narrowly edged out Kim with 21% to Kim’s 20%. Hong and Na followed with 14% each, and Ahn recorded 8%.

The PPP’s primary process involves two preliminary rounds (cutoffs). The first, which will narrow the field to four candidates, will be announced on April 22. This round is based solely on public opinion polling (100%) among PPP supporters and unaffiliated voters, with supporters of other parties excluded.

In the second round, the top four will be narrowed to two based on a 50–50 combination of a general public poll and a party member vote. If one candidate wins a majority in the second round, there will be no final runoff. The party convention to confirm the nominee will take place on May 3.

The survey was conducted via mobile automated response system (ARS) using random digit dialing (RDD). The margin of error was ±2.2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 7.6% (2,002 responses from 22,437 calls). Demographic weighting was applied based on gender, age, and region using data from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety as of March 2025. For full details, visit the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.