South Korea s presidential race tightens sharply after TV debate

SEOUL – South Korean presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung saw his lead in the election campaign narrow sharply in the latest opinion poll released on May 23 as the conservative ruling party’s Kim Moon-soo made up ground after their first TV debate.

The opposition Democratic Party nominee Lee had the backing of about 45 per cent in a Gallup Korea poll conducted between May 20 to May 22, a drop of 6 percentage points compared with the previous week.

Support for the ruling People Power Party’s Mr Kim rose by 7 percentage points to 36 per cent.

While that still leaves Lee with the upper hand, Mr Kim could draw neck and neck with him if he is able to convince the Reform Party’s Lee Jun-seok to stand down, and he is able to garner most of his support.

The Reform Party’s Mr Lee Jun-seok improved his standing by two percentage points to 10 per cent, reaching the highest level since the founding of the party.

At a news conference late on May 22, Mr Lee Jun-seok said that he will not be joining forces with Mr Kim and that he’ll stay in the race until the end, accusing Mr Kim’s party of taking “insulting” actions to pressure him to merge their campaigns.

The poll comes after the contenders faced off in their first television debate on May 18.

The survey also showed more people expressing their choices as the election approaches, with the proportion of undecided voters dropped to levels seen just before the last presidential election.

A second televised debate is scheduled for the evening of May 23.

South Korea goes to the polls on June 3 to elect a new leader after six months of political instability, sparked by former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s abrupt declaration of martial