[Public Opinion Briefing 70-2] Next Presidential Candidates: Park 25.2% > Yoo Si-min 7.2% > Chung Mong-joon 7.0%

[Public Opinion Briefing 70] EAI・Korea Research Regular Public Opinion Barometer Survey

1. MB's Approval Rating Rises for Four Consecutive Months / Party Support Ratings

2. Next Presidential Candidates: Park 25.2% > Yoo Si-min 7.2% > Chung Mong-joon 7.0%

Former Representative Park Holds Steady Lead (Also Leads in Honam) Amidst "Only 25.3% of MB's Supporters Back Park"

Among opposition candidates, former Minister Yoo Si-min Shows Competitiveness in the Seoul Metropolitan Area

Former Representative Park Geun-hye ranked first with 25.2%, former Minister of Health and Welfare Yoo Si-min second with 7.3%, and Grand National Party Chairman Chung Mong-joon third with 7.0%. Current Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who declared his candidacy for Seoul Mayor, and former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook followed with 4.9% and 4.5% respectively. Former President Lee Hoi-chang garnered 4.1%, Representative Chung Dong-young 3.8%, former Representative Sohn Hak-kyu 3.3%, Prime Minister Chung Un-chan and Governor Kim Moon-soo each received 2.4%, while Democratic Party Chairman Chung Sye-kyun remained at 1.0%.

[Figure 2] February Preference for Next Presidential Candidates: "If Tomorrow Were Election Day, Whom Would You Vote For?"

Looking at regional support, the top three candidates show consistent backing across all regions for former Representative Park Geun-hye. Support is highest in the Chungcheong region at 42.9%. Notably, in the Gwangju/Honam region, she ranks second with 15.3% support, following former Minister Chung Dong-young (16.9%). However, her support in Seoul as a preferred candidate for the next president was 15.9%, lower than her support in Honam, which remains a challenge. Furthermore, among President Lee Myung-bak's supporters, only 25.3% chose former Representative Park as their preferred candidate for the next presidential election, a figure close to the 26.1% support from respondents pessimistic about the President's state administration. This suggests that the President Lee's supporters' negative perception of former Representative Park may have been reflected in the survey results during the conflict with the pro-Lee faction over the Sejong City issue.

Former Minister Yoo Si-min ranks second in the Seoul metropolitan area and third in the TK and PK regions, emerging as the most prominent opposition candidate. In Seoul, he garnered 11.2% support, narrowing the gap with former Representative Park Geun-hye to 4.7 percentage points. However, in Honam, he trails behind former Minister Chung Dong-young and former Representative Park, even losing third place to former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, indicating a weak base in Honam, a traditional stronghold for opposition parties. He also failed to rank within the top three in the Gangwon/Jeju region.

Grand National Party Chairman Chung Mong-joon ranked second in the PK region and third in the Seoul metropolitan area, Chungcheong, and Gangwon/Jeju regions. Former Representative Chung Dong-young, who ran in the previous presidential election, ranked first in Honam with 16.9% support. Former Liberty Forward Party Chairman Lee Hoi-chang ranked second in the Chungcheong region with 7.2% support, but struggled to find a significant support base in other regions. While Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon did not show strong support in Seoul, he notably ranked second in the Daegu/Gyeongbuk region, behind former Representative Park Geun-hye. Former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook showed stronger support than former Minister Yoo Si-min in the Honam and Gangwon/Jeju regions.

[Table 4] Preferred Candidates by Region (%)