Who's ahead: Kim Moon-soo's support rises after confirmed as PPP candidate
Liberal Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung garnered 50.2 percent support in recent poll results — a slight 1.9 percentage point drop from the previous week, when the rival People Power Party wrestled to unify around a single nominee.
Realmeter, a polling agency, released the outcomes Monday after conducting a phone survey of 1,509 eligible voters aged 18 and over nationwide from May 14 to May 16.
Conservative People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo recorded 35.6 percent support, while minor conservative New Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok garnered 8.7 percent — up by 4.5 and 2.4 percentage points, respectively, from the previous poll conducted May 7 to 9.
Realmeter analyzed that Kim's support rose after he was officially confirmed as the People Power Party's presidential candidate on May 10, having overcome interparty strife over the candidate merger with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
'The commencement of the official campaign appears to have led to a rallying effect among conservative voters, boosting his (Kim's) approval ratings,' the polling agency said.
In contrast, Lee Jae-myung has 'been consolidating anti-Yoon conservative voters and attracting moderates by stepping up efforts to broaden his appeal,' despite a slight dip in support, according to Realmeter.
The polling agency further explained that Lee Jae-myung's support increased in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province following last week's campaign stops in the Yeongnam region, a conservative stronghold in the country's southeast. Kim led the two areas with 44.9 percent, followed closely by Lee Jae-myung at 43.5 percent and Lee Jun-seok at 9.0 percent, leaving only a small gap between the two frontrunners.
In South Gyeongsang Province and the metropolitan cities of Busan and Ulsan — also parts of the Yeongnam region — Lee Jae-myung garnered 49.1 percent, Kim 39.4 percent and Lee Jun-seok 7.7 percent.
In hypothetical one-on-one matchups, Lee Jae-myung polled at 54.3 percent against Kim's 40.4 percent — a 13.9 percentage point lead — and at 51.4 percent against Lee Jun-seok's 30.0 percent, both leading beyond the margin of error.
Realmeter attributed Lee Jae-myung's front-runner status to 'strong voter cohesion among Democratic Party supporters and progressives, along with majority support from within the moderate voter bloc.'
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