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Parties show diverging responses to seemingly decisive exit poll results

Published: 03 Jun. 2025, 22:04 Updated: 03 Jun. 2025, 23:01

LEE SOO-JUNG
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Officials and lawmakers from the liberal Democratic Party at the National Assembly in western Seoul raise their arms to cheer after exit poll results indicated its candidate Lee Jae-myung is likely to win in the presidential election on June 3. [KIM SEONG-RYONG]

The liberal Democratic Party (DP) burst into loud applause and cheers as soon as exit polls indicated that its presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung was likely to have garnered a majority of votes, while the rival and conservative People Power Party (PPP) went numb.

The exit poll showed that the DP's Lee earned 51.7 percent of support and Kim Moon-soo of the PPP obtained 39.3 percent. Lee Jun-seok of the minor Reform Party earned 7.7 percent of support.

At the situation room at the National Assembly in western Seoul, DP lawmakers and officials from the Lee Jae-myung camp clapped and chanted his name synchronously — apparently in a spirit of potential victory.

After the exit poll announcement, DP floor leader Park Chan-dae, known to be a pro-Lee Jae-myung figure, said the results showed that "Koreans rebuked the insurrectionist administration" through the election.

The term "insurrectionist" seemingly refers to ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, who declared martial law last December. The DP has since called the martial law imposition an "act of insurrection."

Park added that "public judgment on the Yoon administration and insurrectionists" and "aspiration to recover economy and public livelihood appeared" appeared to be the two most crucial factors of the election results — if Lee Jae-myung wins.

While noting that the exit poll is a prediction, Park said his party will continue to monitor the ballot counting until the DP candidate's victory is confirmed.

The conservative People Power Party’s ballot counting monitoring room at the parliament is seen nearly empty as its lawmakers left the venue after seeing exit polls indicating its candidate Kim Moon-soo was unlikely to be elected as president on June 3. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

In contrast to the DP, the PPP saw the result as "shocking."

Within several minutes of the exit poll announcement, the majority of PPP lawmakers left their ballot counting monitoring room at the parliament — mostly without any remarks.

During her brief interview with a public broadcaster KBS, PPP Rep. Na Kyung-won, a manager of the Kim's camp, expressed "regret" over the exit poll results, which showed that Kim was behind the DP's Lee by "more than margin of error." She added that the PPP found the results "quite shocking."

"It is regrettable that our party prepared the election belatedly due to internal turmoil," Na said, adding that "time was insufficient to unveil the true nature of Lee Jae-myung whose [family-related] controversies surfaced at the final phase of the election."

PPP senior spokesperson Shin Dong-uk said his party will "calmly monitor ballot counting results until the end" as the exit poll is not a result of the election.

Reform Party Rep. Chun Ha-ram, Lee Jun-seok's camp manager, extended his gratitude to voters who cast their ballots for Lee — who earned 7.7 percent of support in the exit poll.

"I am so proud and thankful for all voters who chose Lee Jun-seok, a figure representing a new future, despite concerns that their votes would become useless," Chun said at the National Assembly.

Chun said Lee Jun-seok showed his "unwavering attitude by completing his race despite being in a weaker situation compared to the two major parties." He added that young people's support for his candidate might have contributed to the high voter turnout.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]