SEOUL, March 03 (AJP) - Support for South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has risen to 44.2 percent, surpassing the ruling People Power Party (PPP) by a margin greater than the survey’s margin of error, according to a new poll released on Monday.
The survey, conducted by Realmeter among 1,506 adults aged 18 and older last week, found that the DP’s approval rating climbed 3.1 percentage points from the previous week.
Meanwhile, support for the PPP declined by 5.1 percentage points, falling to 37.6 percent. The poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, with a confidence level of 95 percent.
Political tensions are escalating in South Korea as the DP criticized lawmakers from the ruling party for attending a rally opposing the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
In a statement, DP spokesperson Hwang Jung-ah accused the PPP of embracing far-right politics by supporting what she described as President Yoon’s "delusive" political behavior.
“It is outrageous to invoke the spirit of the March 1st Independence Movement to defend a leader who seeks to trample on the people’s rights for the sake of one-man rule," Hwang said.
Hwang also denounced remarks made by PPP lawmaker Seo Cheon-ho at the rally, where he called for dismantling the Constitutional Court, the election commission, and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials. The DP spokesperson denounced him of inciting unrest among hardline supporters and undermining the rule of law.
The PPP pushed back, arguing that the DP was disregarding public sentiment and unfairly labeling citizens as extremists.
“The people are raising their voices against the DP's parliamentary dictatorship and demanding reforms at the Constitutional Court and election commission, both of which have been mired in allegations of bias and corruption,” PPP spokesperson Seo Ji-young said in a statement.
Seo also criticized the DP’s characterization of the protest, asking, “Are the hundreds of thousands of citizens who filled the streets extremists? Is every critic of the DP to be labeled far-right?”
Meanwhile, the survey's findings also showed growing support for DP leader Lee Jae-myung as a potential future presidential candidate.
In the same survey, 46.3 percent of respondents said they backed Lee, while Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo received 18.9 percent support. Former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon trailed with 6.9 percent.
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