Ex-presidential candidates taking leads in parliamentary by-elections: polls

SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) -- Former presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung and Ahn Cheol-soo are leading their rivals in the upcoming parliamentary by-elections, polls showed Wednesday.

Lee of the Democratic Party (DP) was ahead of Yoon Hyung-sun of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) 50.8 percent to 40.9 percent in the race for a National Assembly seat in the Gyeyang-B district in Incheon, west of Seoul, according to a Realmeter survey of 806 adults conducted Monday and Tuesday.

The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Lee, who lost to President Yoon Suk-yeol by only 0.73 percentage point in the March 9 election, is looking for his first term at the National Assembly.

In another Realmeter survey, Ahn of the PPP led Kim Byoung-gwan of the DP with 60.8 percent support against Kim's 32.1 percent in the race for the seat representing the Bundang-A district of Seongnam, just south of Seoul.

Ahn, who withdrew from the presidential race to endorse Yoon, is seeking his first parliamentary membership since 2017. After the presidential election, Ahn's People's Party merged with Yoon's PPP.

Parliamentary by-elections will take place in seven constituencies concurrently with the local elections on June 1.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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