Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has consolidated his lead among potential presidential candidates, posting an overwhelming lead of 40.2 percent in the latest poll conducted by Realmeter.

Lee, who served as prime minister under President Moon Jae-in and won a parliamentary seat in the April 15 general elections, saw his popularity climb by 10.5 percentage points from a month earlier, the local pollster said.

He held the lead for the 11th consecutive month and exceeded the 40 percent mark for the first time. 

Hwang Kyo-ahn, once thought to be Lee’s conservative rival, plunged to 6 percent, down whopping 13.4 percentage points from the previous month. Hwang, who served as prime minister for former President Park Geun-hye, was defeated by Lee for a Seoul constituency in the April parliamentary elections.

Set to join the upcoming parliament for a fifth term, Lee now chairs the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s committee on anti-coronavirus measures.

A detailed look at the poll results shows Lee leading across all age groups and regions, except in the conservative stronghold of North and South Gyeongsang provinces. Support for Lee was highest in Gwangju and the adjoining North and South Jeolla provinces at 52.8 percent.

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung came in second at 14.4 percent, up 0.8 percentage point from a month earlier and recording his highest rating since August 2019, when the pollster started the survey.

He was second-best in all regions where former Prime Minister Lee was No. 1, except in Gangwon Province.

Hong Joon-pyo, a prominent conservative politician who returned to mainstream politics after winning in the general elections, came in third at 7.6 percent, edging out Hwang, the former chairman of the main opposition United Future Party.

Support for Hong was strongest in North Gyeongsang Province and neighboring Daegu, a conservative stronghold where he ran as an independent and won.

Once a potential presidential front-runner on the conservative front, Hwang seemed to have lost his support base after the landslide defeat to Lee Nak-yon in the Jongno district race.

Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the minor People’s Party, and ex-Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon were next in fifth and sixth place, respectively.

The poll was commissioned by local online newspaper OhmyNews and has a 95 percent confidence level with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points. It was conducted on 2,552 adults nationwide.

By Choi Si-young (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)