Support for Democratic Party of Korea and People Power Party candidates in the Yeongnam region has narrowed in various opinion polls. It appears conservative voters have rallied after the Democratic Party recently introduced what it called the "fabricated indictment special counsel act." The fabricated indictment special counsel act sparked controversy because it included a provision allowing the special counsel to cancel the indictment in President Lee Jae-myung's case.

Chong Won-o, the Democratic Party of Korea candidate for Seoul mayor, and Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, attend side by side and exchange greetings at the 54th Parents' Day ceremony hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Association of the Korean Senior Citizens Association at Jangchung Arena in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 6th./Courtesy of News1

In a poll (wireless telephone face-to-face survey) by Ipsos for SBS of 800 eligible voters in Seoul from the 1st to the 3rd, Democratic Party candidate Chong Won-o had 41% and People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon had 34%. The gap between the two was 7 percentage points (p). Earlier, in a wireless telephone face-to-face survey by Korea Research International for MBC of 800 Seoul voters on the 28th and 29th of last month, Chong had 48% and Oh had 32%, a difference of 16%p.

In Daegu, a poll by MetaVoice and Research Lab for JTBC of 804 eligible voters in Daegu on the 5th and 6th found Democratic Party candidate Kim Boo-kyum at 40% and People Power Party candidate Choo Kyung-ho at 41%, indicating a razor-thin race within the margin of error. Responses saying there was no one to vote for or they did not know totaled 18%.

For the Busan mayoral race, a survey conducted via wireless ARS by Hangil Research for Busan MBC of 1,013 eligible voters in Busan on the 1st and 2nd showed Democratic Party candidate Chun Jae-soo at 46.9% and People Power Party candidate Park Heong-joon at 40.7%. The gap was 6.2%p. In a wireless ARS survey by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) of 801 Busan voters on the 12th and 13th of last month, Chun had 48% and Park had 35.2%, which was outside the margin of error.

Kim Boo-kyum (left), the Democratic Party of Korea candidate for Daegu mayor, speaks at the Korea Federation of Trade Unions Daegu Chapter endorsement event, and Choo Kyung-ho, the People Power Party candidate for Daegu mayor, speaks at the Community Educators Association endorsement event on the 8th./Courtesy of News1

Gyeongnam and Ulsan are also in close races. In a wireless ARS survey by Mono Research for the Gyeongnam Ilbo of 1,000 eligible voters in Gyeongnam on the 1st and 2nd, Democratic Party candidate Kim Kyeong-soo was at 41.9% and People Power Party candidate Park Wan-su was at 44.1%. In a survey (wireless ARS, landline RDD) by Public Opinion Research for KBS Ulsan and the Ulsan Maeil Ilbo of 804 eligible voters in Ulsan on the 4th and 5th, Democratic Party candidate Kim Sang-uk had 32.9% and People Power Party candidate Kim Doo-kyum had 37.1%. The Progressive Party candidate Kim Jong-hun had 14.2%, and independent candidate Park Maeng-woo followed with 8.5%.

In political circles, the narrowing gaps in support between candidates are being attributed to the impact of the fabricated indictment special counsel pushed by the ruling party. The Democratic Party proceeded with a "fabricated indictment parliamentary probe" into cases indicted under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and then introduced a special counsel bill. However, controversy over canceling the indictment in the president's case led to an agreement to discuss it after the local elections.

For details of the aforementioned opinion polls, refer to the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

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