(LEAD) Lee, Yoon in dead heat at 33 pct vs. 32.5 pct: poll

All News 22:20 January 30, 2022

(ATTN: UPDATES with additional poll results in last 4 paras)

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is in a dead heat with his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol with 33 percent support against Yoon's 32.5 percent, a poll showed Sunday.

Lee of the liberal Democratic Party lost 1 percentage point from a Jan. 21-22 survey, while Yoon of the conservative People Power Party stayed put, according to the Southern Post survey of 1,002 adults conducted from Friday to Saturday.

Ahn Cheol-soo, the candidate of the minor opposition People's Party, came third with 9.4 percent, followed by Sim Sang-jeung of the minor progressive Justice Party at 2.5 percent.

When asked to pick the candidate most likely to win the March 9 election, 39.1 percent chose Lee, while 39.5 percent chose Yoon.

On presidential TV debates, 75.6 percent said they are an important factor in deciding whom to vote for, with 46.6 percent saying they will definitely watch the debates and 40.5 percent saying they will watch them if possible.

President Moon Jae-in received an approval rating of 41.7 percent and a disapproval rating of 54.6 percent.

A Hankook Research poll conducted on 1,000 adults from Thursday to Saturday showed Yoon leading Lee 37.8 percent to 33.2 percent but still within the margin of error.

Ahn and Sim earned 11.1 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.

When asked to pick the candidate most likely to win, 46.1 percent chose Yoon, while 39.8 percent opted for Lee.

Both surveys had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.