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With election 12 days away, Lee, Yoon neck and neck: surveys

February 25, 2022

With election day just 12 days away, ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol are still running neck and neck, two polls showed Friday.

According to a survey of 1,000 adults conducted between Tuesday and Thursday by Gallup Korea, Lee of the liberal Democratic Party is leading Yoon of the conservative People Power Party with 38 percent support against Yoon’s 37 percent.

Lee gained 4 percentage points from last week, while Yoon lost 4 percentage points.

In a separate survey by Research View, which polled 1,000 adults from Tuesday to Thursday, Yoon led Lee 46 percent to 41 percent.

Yoon lost 2 percentage points from last week, while Lee gained 2 points, according to the Research View survey, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Another poll conducted on 1,005 respondents by People Networks Research (PNR) from Wednesday to Thursday showed Yoon earned 43.8 percent against 41 percent for Lee. The gap narrowed from 4.7 percentage points to 2.8 percentage points from last week.

The PNR survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points with a 95 percent confidence level.

In the Gallup Korea poll, Ahn Cheol-soo, the candidate of the minor opposition People’s Party, came in third with 12 percent, followed by Sim Sang-jeung of the minor progressive Justice Party at 4 percent.

In the Research View poll, Ahn garnered 7 percent support, followed by Sim with 2 percent.

In the PNR poll, Ahn earned 7.4 percent, trailed by Sim with 3.1 percent.

Presidential candidates pose for a photo before their first TV debate at KBS in Seoul on Feb. 3, 2022. From left are Sim Sang-jeung of the Justice Party, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party, Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party and Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's Party. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Presidential candidates pose for a photo before their first TV debate at KBS in Seoul on Feb. 3, 2022. From left are Sim Sang-jeung of the Justice Party, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party, Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party and Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People’s Party. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

By age group, Lee won 57 percent of support from voters in their 40s, while Yoon received 58 percent support from those in their 60s, according to the Gallup Korea poll.

Among voters in their 20s, Lee won 28 percent, Yoon received 26 percent and Ahn earned 26 percent.

President Moon Jae-in’s approval rating rose 3 percentage points from last week to 43 percent, while his disapproval rating fell 2 points to 51 percent, the Gallup Korea poll showed.

The two surveys had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.