Photo: Lee Jae-myung on the campaign trail, c. 2024. Credit: News1.
Unsurprisingly, the impeachment of Yoon Suk-yeol 윤석열 has led to a surge of support for the Democratic Party 민주당’s presidential prospects. According to a December 19 poll by Newstomato 뉴스토마토, 57.2% of respondents said they would vote for a Democratic candidate if the presidential election were held tomorrow, while 27.3% said they would vote for the People Power Party 국민의힘 candidate.
Among potential Democratic candidates, party chairman Lee Jae-myung 이재명 당대표 is the clear favorite. In the December 19 Gallup Korea 갤럽코리아 poll, Lee led the field of potential contenders with 37% support, his highest level to date in a poll by Gallup Korea. No other potential candidate attracted double-digit support, with conservatives Han Dong-hun 한동훈 and Hong Jun-pyo 홍준표 each receiving 5%. Similarly in a December 17 poll by Straight News 스트레이트 뉴스, Lee led with 48.0% support as respondents’ preferred next president, with conservatives Han (8.0%), Hong (7.0%) and O Se-hun 오세훈 (5.7%) trailing far behind.