Lee Myung-bak Leads All Candidates in Latest Poll

In the 22nd poll concerning the 2007 presidential election by the Dong-A Ilbo, Grand National Party (GNP) candidate Lee Myung-bak enjoyed a 40.2% support rating, maintaining his lead in the presidential election campaign. Lee was followed by United New Democratic Party (UNDP) candidate Chung Dong-young at 15.1%, independent contender Lee Hoi-chang at 12.4%, Create Korea Party candidate Moon Kook-hyun at 7.1%, Democratic Labor Party (DLP) candidate Kwon Young-ghil at 2.5%, Democratic Party candidate Rhee In-je at 0.7%, True Owner Coalition candidate Chung Geun-mo at 0.2%, and Economy Republican Party candidate Heo Gyeong-yeong at 0.2%.

The Korea Research Center (KRC), commissioned by the Dong-A Ilbo, conducted a survey of 1,500 eligible voters on Wednesday afternoon. This poll is the last that can be released until election day because the election law stipulates a ban on the publication of any poll within six days before an election is held.

When asked, “Are you willing to cast ballots on the election day (December 19),” 80.0% answered they would certainly do so. In a survey of these voters willing to cast ballots, GNP candidate Lee Myung-bak’s support rating topped 43.6%, followed by Chung Dong-young (15.5%), Lee Hoi-chang (12.7%), Moon Kook-hyun (6.3%), Kwon Young-ghil (2.3%), Rhee In-je (0.4%), Chung Geun-mo (0.2%) and Lee Soo-sung (0.1%).

In the same survey, 78.6% of respondents chose the GNP’s Lee as a virtual shoo-in, while 4.9% and 4.3% of respondents answered Chung Dong-young and Lee Hoi-chang, respectively.

In terms of the impeachment bill against prosecutors who dealt with the BBK stock manipulation case submitted by the UNDP, the share of respondents who considered the impeachment bill inappropriate was larger than the share of those who believed it appropriate, with the former recording 46.7% and the latter 40.1%.

Regarding political party preferences, the GNP turned out to be the most preferred party with a 48.8% approval rating, followed by the UNDP (12.2%), the DLP (10.1%), the Create Korea Party (5.4%), and the Democratic Party (4.2%).

In the survey, 30.1% of respondents showed their support for President Roh Moo-hyun’s performance, while 63.9% said the president has done a poor job.

swpark@donga.com