A majority of voters said they would support the Democratic Party candidate in the June 3 Gyeonggi gubernatorial election, leaving the People Power Party trailing by more than a two-to-one margin.
Party-level support shows a similar, wide advantage for the Democrats. With voters’ candidate choices tracking closely with their party preferences, analysts say a pro-Democratic momentum is consolidating.
On April 2, Incheon Ilbo released results from a poll it commissioned from Hankil Research. The survey interviewed 1,003 Gyeonggi residents aged 18 and older by phone from March 30 to April 1. When asked, “Which party’s candidate would you vote for in this Gyeonggi governor’s race?” respondents gave 55.9% to the Democratic Party candidate and 23.6% to the People Power Party candidate (margin of error ±3.1 percentage points), a gap of 32.3 percentage points.
Other parties polled as follows: New Future Democratic Party 2.7%, People’s Union 1.4%, Progressive Party 1.2%, and other parties 1.8%. “None” and “Don’t know” responses were 8.1% and 5.3%, respectively.
The Democratic candidate secured majority support across both genders and in every region, demonstrating broad advantages across areas and sexes. By region, Democratic support stood at 56.4% in the southern zone, 56.9% in the southwest, 52.1% in the east, and 57.6% in the northwest.
The People Power candidate polled 21.0%, 21.2%, 29.2%, and 23.9% in those regions, respectively.
Among respondents who identified as centrist, 61.0% chose the Democratic candidate, indicating the party’s appeal is expanding beyond its core base.
Only 16.2% of centrists said they would vote for the People Power candidate.
By age, the Democratic candidate posted commanding leads. Voters in their 40s and 50s supported the Democrat at 65.7% and 70.3%, respectively, compared with 13.9% and 16.4% for the People Power candidate.
The Democrat also won a majority among voters in their 30s with 54.1%, and held 52.8% support among voters in their 60s, ahead of the People Power candidate’s 23.7% and 26.5%. Voters aged 18–29 gave the Democratic candidate 45.9%—below a majority but still ahead of the People Power candidate’s 29.5%.
However, among voters aged 70 and older, the Democratic candidate’s support fell to 38.0%, nearly matching the People Power candidate’s 37.0% within the poll’s margin of error.
Because 13.4% of respondents gave reserved answers—“none” (8.1%) or “don’t know” (5.3%)—analysts note the results could still shift depending on primary outcomes, candidate unification, or last-minute campaign developments.
Party support follows a similar pattern. When asked about party preference, 52.4% named the Democratic Party and 24.2% named the People Power Party, a 28.2 percentage-point gap.
Other parties polled at 3.2% for the National Reform Party, 2.9% for the Reform New Party, 0.7% for the Progressive Party, and 2.1% for others. 12.1% said they have no party preference, and 2.4% said they didn’t know.
Notably, among centrists the Democratic Party leads 55.8% to 11.8% for the People Power Party, suggesting the Democrats have moved beyond simple base consolidation and are expanding their reach.
/By Da-ye Park pdyes@incheonilbo.com
※Note: Incheon Ilbo commissioned Hankil Research Co. to conduct this survey of 1,003 men and women aged 18 and older living in Gyeonggi Province from March 30 to April 1. The survey used automated response (ARS) via wireless phone virtual numbers (100.0%), and the response rate was 5.2%. We applied weighting by sex, age, and region based on the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s resident registration population as of the end of February 2026. The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. For details, see the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.
