Seoul, April 24
Lee Jae-myung, former leader of South Korea's Democratic Party, kept a wide lead in approval ratings among presidential hopefuls for the June 3 election, a survey showed on Thursday.
According to the National Barometer Survey (NBS), Lee led the poll with 41 per cent, marking the first time the figure surpassed the 40 per cent mark in an NBS poll.
Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo and former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) came next with 10 per cent, followed by former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon with 8 per cent.
In the same survey, 39 per cent of the respondents favoured the PPP holding on to power, while 50 per cent voted for a regime change.
South Korean Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was not included in the survey amid growing speculations over his possible candidacy, news agency reported.
The South Korean government designated June 3 as the date of the next presidential election following the ouster of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The designation was made at a Cabinet meeting four days after the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of Yoon over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.