Ruling Party Candidates Lead in Capital Region

Ruling party candidates in the June 2 local elections are leading their rivals in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, the results of a survey said Sunday. The races in South Chungcheong Province and South Gyeongsang Province are hotly contested, however.

The Dong-A Ilbo and Korea Research Center conducted a joint telephone opinion poll Thursday and Friday, the days when runners registered their candidacies, in 10 major cities and provinces. The result for the remaining six electorates will be reported later.

Eight hundred people were surveyed in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province each and 500 in each of the two Chungcheong provinces, Busan, Ulsan, South Gyeongsang Province, Gangwon Province and Jeju Province.

In Seoul, 49.7 percent of voters backed incumbent mayor Oh Se-hoon, a member of the ruling Grand National Party. The main opposition Democratic Party’s candidate, former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, was second with 32.3 percent.

In Gyeonggi, incumbent governor Kim Moon-soo of the ruling party led with 44.1 percent, more than 10 percentage points ahead of his opposition rival, former Health and Welfare Minister Rhyu Si-min.

In Daejeon, Yum Hong-chul (35 percent) of the minor conservative Liberty Forward Party was ahead of the city’s incumbent mayor Park Sung-hyo (28.1 percent), a ruling party member. In North Chungcheong Province, incumbent governor Chung Woo-taik (43.4 percent) of the ruling party was leading Democratic Party candidate Lee Si-jong (34.1 percent).

In contrast, Ahn Hee-jung (28.1 percent) of the Democratic Party was in a neck-and-neck race with the Liberty Forward Party’s Park Sang-don (23 percent). The ruling party’s Park Hae-choon was third with 15.2 percent.

The ruling party’s candidates comfortably led in Busan and Ulsan. Independent Kim Du-kwan (39 percent) and the ruling party’s Lee Dal-gon were locked in a tight competition in South Gyeongsang Province.

Independent candidates were leading the race for governor of Jeju Province. Woo Geun-min (29.9 percent), who bolted from the Democratic Party, was ahead of Hyun Myung-kwan (19.9 percent), who left the ruling party amid a vote-buying scandal. Koh Hee-bum of the Democratic Party was third with 15.4 percent.

In Gangwon, Lee Kye-jin (39 percent) of the ruling party was ahead of the Democratic Party’s Lee Kwang-jae (31.6 percent).

yongari@donga.com