Photo: The National Assembly. Credit: National Assembly.
The 2024 Assembly Election 총선 is now ten months away. Although support for two parties was roughly equal, 49% of respondents said they agreed with the statement, “More opposition party candidates should be elected to check the government,” while 37% agreed that “More ruling party candidates should be elected to support the government.”
In a similar poll a week before the last Assembly Election in 2020, 49% said they supported the ruling party candidates and 39% said they supported the opposition, leading to a historic supermajority victory for the Democratic Party 민주당 and then-president Moon Jae-in 문재인.
The same poll also asked about preferences for the next president, allowing respondents to provide a name rather than selecting from a pre-set list. Former presidential candidate and current Democratic Party chairman Lee Jae-myung 이재명 led the overall field at 22%. Lee virtually stood alone among liberals, as other center-left candidates such as former prime minister Lee Nak-yeon 이낙연 (2%), Gyeonggi-do Province governor Kim Dong-yeon 김동연 경기도지사 (1%) and Assembly Member Lee Tan-hee 이탄희 (1%) received only marginal support.
Among conservatives, Justice Minister Han Dong-hun 한동훈 법무부장관 led with 11%, followed by Daegu mayor Hong Jun-pyo 홍준표 대구 시장 (5%), Seoul mayor O Se-hun 오세훈 서울 시장 (4%), and former presidential candidate An Cheol-su 안철수 (2%). Other conservatives who cracked 1% included former presidential candidate Yu Seung-min 유승민 and former People Power Party chairman Lee Jun-seok 이준석. Reflecting the distance to the next presidential election in 2027, 46% of respondents said they did not yet have a preferred candidate.