Lee leads Yoon by up to 9.7 percentage points: polls

SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung led his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol in four public opinion surveys published Monday, with a lead of between 1.7 and 9.7 percentage points.

According to a survey conducted by Realmeter from Dec. 26-31, Lee of the Democratic Party earned 40.9 percent support, compared with Yoon of the People Power Party's 39.2 percent.

The survey was conducted on 3,037 adults nationwide and had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Lee overtook Yoon among voters in their 20s, an age group considered to hold the swing vote, with 33.6 percent against Yoon's 28 percent.

A survey by the Korea Society Opinion Institute showed Lee leading Yoon 41 percent to 37.1 percent.

This poll was conducted on Dec. 31-Jan. 1 on 1,002 adults nationwide and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

In a survey by Embrain Public conducted on Dec. 30-31, however, Lee's lead over Yoon widened significantly to 9.5 percentage points, with the liberal candidate gaining 39.4 percent and his conservative rival posting 29.9 percent.

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the minor opposition People's Party, posted a double-digit figure of 10.1 percent, while Sim Sang-jeung of the minor progressive Justice Party earned 5.7 percent.

The survey was conducted on 1,010 adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Meanwhile, a survey by Research & Research conducted on Dec. 30 - Jan. 1 put Lee ahead of Yoon by 9.7 percentage points, with 39.9 percent against Yoon's 30.2 percent.

The survey was conducted on 1,012 adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

hague@yna.co.kr
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