Lee Jae-myung Leads South Korea Presidential Race with 49% Support

With just one week remaining until the June 3 presidential election in South Korea, the race has intensified, with polls indicating a tight contest among the top candidates. The latest survey shows that Lee Jae-myung, the candidate from the Democratic Party, maintains a lead with 49% support, while Yoon Suk-yeol, the candidate from the People Power Party, trails with 35% support. This places Lee Jae-myung more than 10 percentage points ahead of his closest rival.

As the election enters its final week, three main candidates are vying for the presidency: Lee Jae-myung from the Democratic Party, Yoon Suk-yeol from the People Power Party, and Lee Jun-seok from the Reform New Party. This format has become a defining feature of the race, with each candidate striving to secure the support of the electorate in the remaining days.

Lee Jae-myung has emphasized his commitment to prioritizing the well-being of citizens and the economy, while also advocating for a pragmatic foreign policy that prioritizes national interests. This approach is seen as an effort to appeal to moderate voters and solidify his lead. Yoon Suk-yeol, on the other hand, has been focusing on galvanizing anti-Lee Jae-myung sentiment to boost his own support. He has also been pushing for a potential merger with Lee Jun-seok, aiming to close the gap with Lee Jae-myung in the final stretch. However, Lee Jun-seok has repeatedly rejected the idea of merging, insisting on running his campaign to the end and predicting that voters may strategically shift their support to him.

The window for a potential merger within the conservative camp is rapidly closing. With the final televised debate scheduled for the evening and early voting set to begin on May 29, any merger talks would need to be concluded by May 28 to avoid a significant number of invalid votes. The outcome of the election will hinge on the strategies employed by the candidates in these final days, as they seek to sway undecided voters and secure their path to the presidency.

Yoon Suk-yeol's support has been increasing, narrowing the gap with Lee Jae-myung. Initially, Yoon Suk-yeol's support rate was more than 20 percentage points behind Lee Jae-myung at the start of the campaign on May 12. This latest poll is one of the final major surveys before the one-week campaign blackout period, during which new polls are prohibited by law.