The survey showed the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) leading the DP 53.8 percent to 22.7 percent among voters aged 18 to 29, while the DP led the PPP 38.4 percent to 33.3 percent among those in their 30s, highlighting the widening divide among younger voters.
The two rival parties are stepping up efforts to court voters in their 20s and 30s as shifting voting patterns and a growing share of politically unaffiliated young people turn the demographic into an increasingly important electoral battleground.
The competition has become particularly visible ahead of the DP's Aug. 17 national convention, where the three candidates for party leadership - Chung-rae, Kim Min-seok and Song young-gil — have each unveiled proposals to expand political representation for younger generations.
Jung has proposed appointing a young rank-and-file party member to the Supreme Council. He has also pledged to place two candidates representing people in their 20s and 30s — one man and one woman — in the party's proportional representation list for the 2028 parliamentary elections.
Kim has proposed creating a permanent body directly under the party leader to focus on issues affecting people in their late teens through their 30s. The body would bring together lawmakers serving on parliamentary committees dealing with youth-related issues. He has also called for regular consultations between the government and the ruling party on youth policy and pledged to reserve one appointed Supreme Council seat for a young member.
Song, meanwhile, has pledged to allocate both of the party leader's appointed Supreme Council seats to young members. He has also proposed developing former U.S. military land in Yongsan, central Seoul, to provide 50,000 homes for young people, newlyweds and those without homes, while offering airfare and overseas living expenses to 100,000 young people struggling to find jobs.
The intensified focus comes after recent elections showed signs of weakening support for the DP among younger voters.
In the 2025 presidential election, an exit poll conducted by South Korea's three major terrestrial broadcasters showed then-presidential candidate Lee Jae Myung receiving 41.3 percent among voters in their 20s. Conservative candidates Kim Moon-soo of the PPP and Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party received 30.9 percent and 24.3 percent, respectively, giving the two candidates a combined 55.2 percent in the age group. Among voters in their 30s, Lee Jae Myung received 47.6 percent, compared with 32.7 percent for Kim and 17.7 percent for Lee Jun-seok.
The PPP is also seeking to expand its appeal among younger voters. PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok proposed in a parliamentary speech in February lowering the voting age from 18 to 16, arguing that younger citizens should be given greater opportunities to participate in politics. He called for discussions in the National Assembly on applying the lower voting age beginning with the June 3 local elections.
The party has also sought to highlight issues it says are particularly important to younger voters including housing and concerns over fairness in the electoral process. It has criticized the current Lee administration's changes to real estate taxation, arguing that they could increase burdens on younger people and renters and make it more difficult for them to move up the housing ladder.
Recent opinion polls underline the challenge facing both parties. Another poll by the National Barometer Survey released last week found a substantial generational divide over the government's housing policy.
According to the poll, only 15 percent of respondents in their 20s and 17 percent of those in their 30s viewed the government's real estate policy positively, compared with 48 percent among both respondents in their 40s and 50s. Views of the Lee administration's overall direction showed a similar gap, with younger respondents considerably less positive than people in their 40s and 50s.
The shift, however, does not necessarily translate into firm support for the conservative opposition.
Korea Gallup figures cited for the fourth week of July showed the DP supported by 20 percent of respondents in their 20s and the PPP by 15 percent. The largest group — 58 percent — said they did not support any political party. The unaffiliated share among voters in their 20s had stood at 33 percent in a January survey. Among people in their 30s, support stood at 29 percent for the DP and 26 percent for the PPP.
Korea Gallup has cautioned that weekly results broken down by age or region are based on smaller samples than its nationwide figures and should therefore not be interpreted as precise week-to-week trends. Its mid-July survey, for example, put overall support at 40 percent for the DP and 26 percent for the PPP, with 28 percent of respondents nationwide identifying with no party.
The figures suggest that voters in their 20s and 30s remain a fluid constituency rather than a reliable support base for either major party, raising the stakes as both sides begin looking toward the 2028 parliamentary elections.
"I don't think the difficulties young people face can be solved with just one or two policies. We need good jobs, stable and affordable housing, and a supportive environment for raising children, including parental leave," Rep. Kim Yun of the DP said.
"We also need to strengthen young people's political and policy representation so they can participate more actively in politics and policymaking and have a greater voice in the decision-making process," Kim added.
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