(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Former Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak is South Korea’s favourite presidential contender, according to a poll by Hankook Research published in Chosun Ilbo. 40.4 per cent of respondents would vote for the member of the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) in this year’s election.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Former Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak is South Korea’s favourite presidential contender, according to a poll by Hankook Research published in Chosun Ilbo. 40.4 per cent of respondents would vote for the member of the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) in this year’s election.
Former GNP chairwoman Park Geun-hye is second with 26.9 per cent, followed by former Kyonggi governor Sohn Hak-kyu with 7.9 per cent, and former Uri Party chairman Chung Dong-young with 3.8 per cent.
Roh Moo-hyun won the December 2002 presidential election with 49 per cent of all cast ballots as a candidate for the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP). In February 2004, Roh severed ties with the MDP and publicly voiced his support for the Uri Party. Lawmakers from the MDP and the GNP successfully voted to initiate impeachment procedures against Roh. Former prime minister Goh Kun briefly took over as interim president before the country’s Constitutional Court ruled in favour of Roh.
Lee Myung-bak has called for South Korea to take a harder line on North Korea and to promote free-market policies. Park Geun-hye is currently serving her third term in the country’s legislature. Her father, Park Chung Hee, was South Korea’s president from 1963 to 1979. Sohn Hak-kyu, who is running as an independent, is also deemed a conservative-leaning candidate.
On Jul. 13, it was revealed that a staff member of the nation’s top intelligence agency had secretly accessed a classified list of Lee’s real estate properties. Lee had previously accused the National Intelligence Service (NIS) of purportedly spreading the rumour that he made his personal fortune through land speculation.
GNP lawmaker and floor leader Kim Hyung-o said in a party meeting that the NIS should clarify the accusations or its allotment of funds could be on the line, adding, “No one will believe if it says there’s no one behind this scheme. If it doesn’t clearly come up with the truth, its domestic budget will be entirely slashed.”
The next presidential ballot is scheduled for Dec. 19. Roh is ineligible for a second term.
Polling Data
Which of these candidates would you vote for if the presidential election were held today?
Lee Myung-bak | 40.4% |
Park Geun-hye | 26.9% |
Sohn Hak-kyu | 7.9% |
Chung Dong-young | 3.8% |
Source: Hankook Research / Chosun Ilbo
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 South Korean adults, conducted in July 2007. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
