Ruling Party Expected to Win Local Elections with 57.1% Support

By PARK, JONG-HO Posted : May 28, 2026, 11:27 Updated : May 28, 2026, 11:27
A representative from the Election Commission sets up an early voting booth at Chonnam National University Convention Hall in Gwangju on May 28, a day before early voting begins for the 9th nationwide local elections. [Photo=Yonhap News]
 
A recent poll indicates that the ruling Democratic Party is expected to win the upcoming local elections.

On May 28, the Korea Social Opinion Institute (KSOI) released results from a survey conducted from May 26 to 27, which showed that 57.1% of respondents anticipate a victory for the ruling party. In contrast, only 22.1% expect the opposition party to win, marking a 35 percentage point gap between the two.

By age group, 66.7% of respondents in their 50s and 66% in their 60s predicted a win for the ruling party. However, among those in their 20s, 32.3% forecasted a victory for the opposition, the highest among all age groups.

Regionally, the ruling party's expected victory was dominant across all areas. The highest support was in Gwangju and Jeolla, where 69.5% predicted a win, followed by Gangwon and Jeju at 64.3%, Gyeonggi and Incheon at 60.8%, and Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheong at 60.1%.

In Seoul, the gap between expectations for the ruling and opposition parties was narrower. The ruling party's expected victory dropped by 6.5 percentage points from the previous survey to 48.8%, while the opposition's forecast rose to 30.7%.

Looking at party support, 84.9% of Democratic Party supporters expect a win for their party, while support for the opposition party among People Power Party supporters fell by 8.3 percentage points to 47.6%. Among undecided voters, 36.2% expect a ruling party victory compared to 11.3% for the opposition, resulting in a 24.9 percentage point gap.

In terms of political ideology, 83.7% of progressives and 67.1% of centrists anticipate a win for the ruling party.

The survey was conducted using automated response methods with wireless virtual numbers provided by three telecommunications companies. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 7.4%. For more details, please refer to the Central Election Polling Review Committee's website.




* This article has been translated by AI.

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