President-elect Lee Jae-Myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea has consistently finished first in all polls this year, with only a little more than 60 days left until the March election.
The ongoing upheaval within the main opposition People Power Party, as well as the resultant drop in support for its presidential contender Yoon Suk-yeol, are all working in Lee's favor at the present time. Yoon has lost support from practically all age groups, especially young voters in their twenties, as a result of the numerous missteps and allegations that have been leveled against him.
A Realmeter survey of 3,037 voters, commissioned by OhmyNews and performed from December 26 to December 31, revealed on Monday that Lee had a 40.9 percent advantage over Yoon, who had a 39.2 percent advantage. Lee's approval rating increased by 1.2 percentage points from the previous poll, while Yoon's approval rating decreased by 1.2 percentage points.
Realmeter's poll of Lee residents shows that the rate has risen above 40% for the first time in the company's history. Yoon's approval rating has now dropped below 40% for the first time since he officially declared his candidacy for president in March of this year.
Lee outperformed Yoon in all age groups with the exception of those over 60. Yoon has lost ground among voters in their twenties, a group that has traditionally been considered a crucial strength in his presidential campaign, which has been characterized by vociferous opposition to the Moon Jae-in administration.
All additional polling findings released in 2022 showed Lee to be much ahead of Yoon, with margins of error well beyond their margins of error. According to a Research Research study of 1,012 voters conducted between December 30 and January 1, Lee was determined to be 9.7 percentage points ahead of Yoon, with 39.9 percent for Lee and 30.2 percent for Yoon.
Ahead of the election, Lee has taken an impressive lead as the People Power Party continues to be riven by internal strife and Yoon is embroiled in a series of problems. Voters of all ages are said to have turned against Yoon as a result of the difficulties, which also benefited Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the minor opposition People's Party.
With 6.6 percent support in the most recent Realmeter survey, Ahn has gained one percentage point in popularity since the previous survey. Ahn received 8.6 percent in the Research Research poll, a considerable increase from the 6.6 percent he received when he announced his third presidential bid on Nov. 1.
Both Lee and Yoon's campaign teams have shown an interest in joining forces with Ahn's campaign ahead of the election, believing that absorbing Ahn's support group will give them a better chance of winning than either of the two nominees on their own. But Ahn has made it clear that he has no intention of forming a coalition with any other presidential contender.
With the election approaching, the Democratic Party has been attempting to consolidate its forces with individuals outside the party, calling on former members to return and join them again for the express goal of bolstering its forces in the upcoming election. Requests for the party to return will be accepted until January 17.
Lee also expressed a desire to work with his primary opponents, highlighting the importance of working together as a unified team in order to overcome Lee's relatively weak support base, which has been critical of the Moon administration and who has experience in central politics.
While this is going on, Yoon's campaign staff has been dealing with difficulties involving the candidate's wife, Kim Keon-hee. Even worse, since the People Power Party's chairman resigned from Yoon's election campaign committee, internal turmoil has deepened and is continuing within the organization.
While Lee has also dealt with his fair share of controversy, Yoon's difficulties have resurfaced in recent weeks, with some criticizing his campaign team's replies to the charges as being insensitive and ineffective.
In a statement to reporters on Monday, Yoon's election campaign organization announced that it will suspend all campaign activities for the time being. In order to restore voter support, it is believed that major adjustments would be implemented within this week by the campaign team's leadership, Kim Chong-in, to the campaign staff.
Earlier that day, Kim told reporters that the latest poll findings, which showed Yoon falling behind Lee, "had some impact" on his efforts to get the reform passed. He went on to say that the question of whether People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-Seok will rejoin the campaign team will also be discussed.