Hong steals lead from scandal-embroiled Yoon

Up to this point, Yoon has enjoyed a comfortable lead over other opposition candidates, but multiple polls now call this a two-man race between Hong and Yoon

Rep. Hong Joon-pyo of the People Power Party takes part in an interview of primary candidates on Thursday. (Yonhap News)

A new poll about opposition party candidates for president found that Hong Joon-pyo, a lawmaker with Korea’s People Power Party, leads former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl by more than the margin of error. Hong appears to be pulling ahead because of growing skepticism about Yoon following his implication in a recent scandal.

The prosecution service, under Yoon’s leadership, is accused of encouraging opposition party members to file criminal complaints against figures in the ruling party shortly before last year’s parliamentary elections.

In a poll released by Realmeter on Thursday, Hong led the field of opposition candidates at 32.6%, above Yoon at 25.8%, which was outside the margin of error

The poll asked 2,019 adults around the country about opposition candidates’ suitability as Korea’s next president on Sept. 6-7. Commissioned by OhmyNews, an online news outlet, the poll had a confidence level of 95% and a sampling error of plus or minus 2.2 points.

Hong’s standing rose 12.4 points from last week, even as Yoon slid by 2.8 points. This is the first poll in which Hong’s lead over Yoon has exceeded the sampling error.

Realmeter said that allegations that the prosecution service attempted to manipulate the election appear to be driving the decline in support for Yoon. “We’re seeing a rapid realignment of the opposition field from Yoon as the frontrunner to a two-way race between Yoon and Hong,” said an analyst with the pollster.

Hong’s rise and Yoon’s fading appeal have been confirmed by other pollsters. Hong came in 24% and Yoon in 18% in another poll about opposition candidates’ suitability for president that was jointly organized by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research International and Hankook Research. The poll, which surveyed 1,011 adults around the country on Sept. 6-8, had a confidence level of 95% and a sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 points. Hong’s support was up five points and Yoon’s was down four from the findings of the previous week’s poll.

By Bae Ji-hyun, staff reporter

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