Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon ranked first in favorability among major South Korean politicians, according to a survey released on the 16th. Rep. Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party drew the highest unfavorable rating at 72%. All seven figures in the survey, however, recorded higher unfavorable than favorable ratings.
Gallup Korea surveyed 1,003 eligible voters aged 18 and over nationwide from the 13th to the 15th on their views of seven leading political figures. Of the respondents, 30% said they had a favorable impression of Oh, the highest among those surveyed. Independent Rep. Han Dong-hoon followed at 23% and Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok at 21%. Cho Kuk, head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's policy institute, stood at 20%, and Democratic Party Rep. Jung Chung-rae at 19%. People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk and Lee each registered 14%.
Oh also ranked first among People Power Party supporters, who gave him a favorability rating of 63%, ahead of Han at 47% and Jang at 35%. Among moderates, Oh drew 27%, while Kim and Han each drew about 20%. The remaining figures scored lower among moderates.
Kim ranked first among Democratic Party supporters at 45%, followed by Jung at 39% and Cho at 37%.
Lee had the highest unfavorable rating at 72%. Cho and Jang followed at 68% each, then Jung at 66%, Han at 64%, Kim at 59% and Oh at 57%. All of those surveyed drew higher unfavorable than favorable ratings.
Lee's favorability peaked at 27% in June 2024 but came in 13 percentage points lower in the latest survey. Cho, who had the second-highest unfavorable rating, saw his favorability fall to 20% from a peak of 35% in June 2024.
The survey was conducted through computer-assisted telephone interviews using randomly selected virtual mobile numbers provided by the country's three wireless carriers. The response rate was 10.4%. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.