Next General Election: 47% Say "More Opposition Candidates Should Be Elected" ... Oh Sehoon Leads in Favorability

Regarding the results of the 23rd National Assembly election, scheduled for 2028, the view that “more opposition candidates should be elected” as a rebuke to the government was found to be more prevalent than support for the government. A favorability survey of seven prominent politicians also found Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon in the lead.

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon takes an oath as a witness at the 2026 National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, held at Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 15th. 2026.10.15. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Gallup Korea said on October 16 that a poll conducted on October 13-15 about the 23rd general election found that 47% of respondents said “more opposition candidates should be elected to keep the current government in check,” while 34% said “more ruling-party candidates should be elected to support the current government.” Another 18% were undecided.

According to the survey, 73% of Democratic Party of Korea supporters and 71% of respondents with progressive leanings supported the government, while 89% of People Power Party supporters and 78% of conservatives favored keeping it in check. Among independents, support for an opposition victory (49%) far outstripped support for a ruling-party victory (16%). Among moderates, support for an opposition victory (44%) and a ruling-party victory (36%) was similar. By region, the view favoring keeping the government in check led in most areas except Honam; by age group, it led in most groups except people in their 40s and 50s.

In a favorability survey of seven prominent political figures—Kim Minseok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea; former Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk; former Democratic Party of Korea leader Chung Cheongrae; People Power Party leader Jang Donghyuk; Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon; independent lawmaker Han Donghoon; and former Reform Party leader Lee Junseok—Oh, Han, and Kim ranked highest.

Oh had the highest favorability, at 30%, followed by Han (23%), Kim (21%), Cho (20%), Chung (19%), Jang (14%), and Lee (14%). Lee had the highest unfavorable rating, at 72%, followed by Jang and Cho (68%), Chung (66%), Han (64%), Kim (59%), and Oh (57%).

The survey was conducted by telephone interviews with 1,003 people nationwide, with a response rate of 10.4%. The margin of error was ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more details about the poll, see the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.