South Korean presidential race tightens as gap between Lee, Kim narrows

A three-way presidential race tightened as Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung lost some of his lead in the latest opinion polls, while People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo gained ground.

With the election just eight days away, opinion polls have still put Lee in front, but the gap between Lee and Kim had narrowed, while Lee Jun-seok of the minor New Reform Party (NRP) garnered his double-digit support.

A Realmeter survey released Saturday showed support for the DP's Lee at 46.6 percent, followed by Kim with 37.6 percent and the NRP's Lee with 10.4 percent. The margin of error was 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

According to a Realmeter survey released on May 11, a day before the official campaign began, the DP's Lee garnered 52.1 percent support against Kim's 31.1 percent in the hypothetical three-way race that also included the NRP's Lee, who earned 6.3 percent.

The NRP's Lee, who once served as a leader of the PPP, has declared he would not drop his candidacy until Election Day, but speculation has persisted about a possible merger between the NRP candidate and Kim.

Attention is focusing on whether Kim and the NRP's Lee may merge their candidacies before Thursday, when early voting begins.

The DP's Lee has been the campaign's front-runner as the election is being held to pick a successor to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted over his failed martial law bid.

This combined photo taken May 25, 2025, shows the presidential candidates of South Korea's major political parties -- (from L to R) Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party, Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party and Lee Jun-seok of the minor conservative New Reform Party -- during their campaign rallies ahead of the June 3 presidential election. (Yonhap)

On Monday, the DP's Lee will revisit Gyeonggi Province, where he previously served as the governor from 2018 to 2021, in a bid to win over swing voters in the greater Seoul area.

The greater Seoul area is home to about half of the population of 52 million, making it a key battleground in the election.

Lee will start off the day by meeting students at Ajou University in Suwon to listen to their challenges in finding jobs and other struggles. He will also unveil a set of policy pledges aimed at students and the youth.

He will then head to Yeongdong Market in Suwon and Dankook University's Jukjeon campus in Yongin for campaign rallies, before wrapping up his day at Namyangju, about 25 kilometers east of Seoul.

Kim of the PPP will head to Samsung's Pyeongtaek Campus, south of Seoul, to highlight his achievements during his time in office as Gyeonggi governor.

The megacomplex was developed in 2010 under Kim's governorship as part of efforts to create a high-tech industrial complex in Godeok International New Town.

Before visiting the campus, Kim will unveil his pledges for regional development at the PPP's office in Cheonan, and campaigning in Anseong and Pyeongtaek.

Later in the day, he will head to Osan and Yongin, and conclude his day with a rally targeting voters in the northern Seoul wards of Nowon, Dobong and Gangbuk.

Earlier, South Korea's National Police said that they had seized the former president's cell phones.