Civic activist leads GNP candidate in Seoul mayoral race: Yonhap poll

By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- Park Won-soon, a lawyer-turned-activist, is ahead of Rep. Na Kyung-won of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) in the race for Seoul mayor, a poll by Yonhap News Agency showed Friday.
The 55-year-old independent Park's rating soared from a single digit after star IT expert and professor Ahn Chul-soo gave up his own bid and endorsed the activist earlier this month. Park, widely considered a liberal candidate with access to a broad network of civic activists, has received offers from the main opposition Democratic Party, but he has not yet decided whether to join any party ahead of next month's by-election.



A popular two-term lawmaker, Na, 48, has been named as the strongest contender for the contest within the center-right party, which is becoming growingly unpopular over rising social inequality ahead of next year's major elections. On Friday, Na formally announced her bid to run in what she earlier called "a very tough election," vowing to improve the livelihoods of Seoul citizens.



An association of 12 polling agencies participated in the Yonhap surveys of 3,700 Seoul residents between Tuesday and Thursday through multiple means of communication, including fixed-line phones, mobile phones and online.
In all polls, Park led the GNP's front-runner Na, with gaps ranging from 7 to 18 percentage points.
Out of 700 respondents interviewed through wire telephone, 42.6 percent supported Park compared with Na's 35.2 percent.
Both mobile phone and online panel polls showed wider gaps between the two, with Park showing a nearly 20 percent lead over Na.
The survey using different methods of communication, the first such kind in the nation, was aimed at better reflecting opinions among different age groups, according to the association. Mobile surveys better reflected young voters in the past, while fixed-line phone polls showed higher response rates among older voters.
The Seoul mayor's seat has been vacant since late August after conservative Oh Se-hoon quit shortly after failing to block an opposition-led free school lunch program in the city's first-ever referendum.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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