A poll found that the gap in party support between the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party has flipped. The trend in which the Democratic Party had maintained an advantage since Feb. last year has been reversed.
According to results from a survey conducted on the 6th to 8th by pollster Jowon C&I at the request of Straight News, the Democratic Party's approval rating was 40.4% and the People Power Party's was 41.6%. The Democratic Party fell 4.2 percentage points, while the People Power Party rose 3.7 percentage points.
The Rebuilding Korea Party and the Reform Party recorded 2.1% and 1.8%, respectively. The survey was conducted nationwide among 2,000 people aged 18 and older using an automated response system to wireless phone calls. The response rate was 4.3%, and the margin of error was ±2.2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For details, refer to the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.
In the June 3 local elections, the Democratic Party of Korea showed an advantage by securing 12 of 16 metropolitan mayor and governor posts, but it fell short of expectations in the Seoul mayoral race and in the by-elections.
The fallout from these election results appears to have been reflected in party support as well. Although within the margin of error, a survey conducted right after the election showed the People Power Party at 41.6% and the Democratic Party of Korea at 40.4%, with the People Power Party ahead.
According to the previous poll by the same firm, the Democratic Party had consistently led the People Power Party since Feb. last year. In the May 2–4 survey, the Democratic Party stood at 50.8% and the People Power Party at 32.1%, showing a large gap, but the gap gradually narrowed thereafter to, for example, 44.6% for the Democratic Party and 36.7% for the People Power Party.