Who Won the First Televised Presidential Debate?

Photo: The four major candidates at the first TV debate.  Credit: KBS.

The first televised presidential debate drew a 39% rating, the second-highest rating ever for a TV debate. In a poll conducted by Energy Economy 에너지경제 and RealMeter 리얼미터 on February 6, People Power Party’s presidential candidate Yun Seok-yeol 윤석열 국민의힘 대선후보 won the assessment, with 40.4% saying Yun had the best performance, while 37.8% said the Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-myung 이재명 민주당 대선후보 had the best performance.

But Lee was the clear beneficiary of the debate: 24.7% said they changed the candidate they supported based on the debate, and 28.1% of those who changed their minds said they moved from Yun to Lee while 18.5% said they moved from Lee to Yun. Overall, Lee was the only candidate who gained additional support as a result of the TV debate.