Over 50% of Koreans want to see presidency change hands, poll finds
Published: 14 Feb. 2025, 13:21
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- MICHAEL LEE
- [email protected]
![Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung waves to supporters as he arrives at the Seoul High Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Feb. 12. Lee is the current frontrunner among potential presidential contenders. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/14/dc9ec4d3-24ac-484c-926e-bea0167fc71c.jpg)
Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung waves to supporters as he arrives at the Seoul High Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Feb. 12. Lee is the current frontrunner among potential presidential contenders. [NEWS1]
Just over half of the respondents to a recent public opinion survey released Friday said they want to see the presidency change hands from Korea's conservatives to its liberals.
In a poll conducted by Gallup Korea, 51 percent of those surveyed said they wanted a “change of administration” against 40 percent who said they want the presidency to remain under the control of the same party.
Current incumbent Yoon Suk Yeol is a member of the conservative People Power Party (PPP).
The survey was conducted from Feb. 11 to 13 and questioned 1,004 adults aged 18 and over. It has a confidence interval of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
However, support for the PPP came in at 39 percent in the poll, or one percentage point higher than the previous week’s survey by Gallup, while support for the liberal Democratic Party (DP) fell by two percentage points to 38 percent.
Among hypothetical presidential contenders mentioned in the survey, DP leader Lee Jae-myung led with 34 percent support, followed by Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo who scored 12 percent support.
Kim has often been mentioned as a potential flag bearer for the PPP, though he has not yet declared his intent to run if an early presidential race should take place.
Should the Constitutional Court rule in favor of upholding Yoon’s impeachment, an election to choose his successor must be held within 60 days of the decision.
Other potential conservative candidates, such as former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, each scored 5 percent of support in the survey.
BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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