Lee Jae-myung, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea and a declared candidate for South Korea’s June 3 presidential election, leads a new Gallup Korea poll with 37% support in the race for the country’s next political leader. The result marks a rise in support following the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol and represents Lee’s highest showing in Gallup surveys since the 2022 presidential election.
According to the poll released Thursday, Gallup Korea surveyed 1,005 adults nationwide from April 8 to 10 using computer-assisted telephone interviews via randomly generated mobile numbers. When asked who they believed was most suitable for the presidency, 37% named Lee—a 3 percentage point increase from the previous week. The figure ties his highest rating since a December 2023 survey.
Trailing Lee in the poll were former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo at 9%, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo at 5%, and former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon at 4%. Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, PPP lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo, and Innovation Party lawmaker Lee Jun-seok each garnered 2%.
In the same survey’s party preference section, the Democratic Party of Korea held steady at 41%, while support for the conservative People Power Party fell five points to 30%.
이지운 기자 easy@donga.com