Over 60 Percent Expect Pro-Government Party to Win Most Seats

By Shim Jae-yun
Staff Reporter

Two weeks ahead of the April 15 general elections, the pro-government Uri Party is far outpacing the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) in what is emerging to be a two-way race.

In an opinion poll conducted by The Korea Times and Media Research, 41.8 percent of respondents said they would support Uri Party candidates while 20.1 percent opted for GNP members. Although the Uri Party’s popularity has ebbed from its spectacular high following the March 12 passage of an impeachment motion against President Roh Moo-hyun, its lead still remains comfortable. About 62 percent expected the Uri Party, which is composed of 49 loyalists of the president, to emerge with the largest number of seats in the Assembly races.

The survey of 1,000 voters across the nation Tuesday also showed 4.1 percent in support of the progressive Democratic Labor Party (DLP) while only 3.0 percent backed candidates from the second-largest party, the embattled opposition Millennium Democratic Party (MDP).

The Uri Party enjoyed relatively high approval ratings among people in their 20s and 30s while the GNP found support among those in their 50s and 60s.

Regarding the party they support under the proportional representation system, 44.7 percent chose the Uri Party while 23.2 percent preferred the GNP.

Seven point five percent said they prefer the DLP, followed by 3.3 percent and 1.1 percent in favor of the MDP and the United Liberal Democrats, respectively.

By region, Uri Party scored the highest marks, with 54.8 percent support in the southwestern Cholla provinces while the GNP obtained the largest approval ratings, 49.5 percent, in Taegu and North Kyongsang Province, which have been dubbed the ``TK’’ region.

The two major parties are neck and neck in Pusan and South Kyongsang Province with the Uri Party and the GNP earning 37.3 percent and 32.7 percent approval ratings, respectively.

In Cholla Province, 70.5 percent of respondents predicted the Uri Party will come out on top, compared to 55.2 percent in the TK area and 59.7 percent in Pusan and South Kyongsang Province.

Touching on the presidential impeachment, 72.2 percent opposed it while 22.2 percent supported it.

Among previous opposition supporters, 20.6 percent of them said they switched their support to the Uri Party, affected by the unprecedented presidential impeachment.

But 45.9 percent said the impeachment had no bearing on their choices in the survey.

In appraising President Roh Moo-hyun’s way of carrying out state administration, 62.8 percent said they approved while 31.1 percent did not approve.

Over withdrawal of the U.S. military from South Korea, 44.6 percent opted for gradual withdrawal while 43.0 percent wanted the U.S. forces to remain at the current level. Only 6.5 percent said they should leave the country immediately.

jayshim@koreatimes.co.kr