UN chief holds lead in S. Korean poll for presidential election

SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Yonhap) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would hold a substantial lead over South Korean politicians in the country's presidential race next year, a new poll showed Sunday, in the latest sign that he enjoys high popularity among South Koreans as a potential candidate.

The poll, commissioned by Yonhap News Agency and public broadcaster KBS, found that Ban is a frontrunner with 28.3 percent of support.

The former South Korean foreign minister is trailed by Moon Jae-in, a former leader of the main Minjoo Party, with 17.9 percent; Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon with 10.5 percent; Kim Moo-sung, head of the ruling Saenuri Party, with 8.6 percent; former Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon with 7.9 percent and Ahn Cheol-soo, a co-leader of the minor opposition People's Party, with 7.8 percent.

The poll is the latest indicator that Ban is the most favored potential candidate for the 2017 presidential election in his native country, though he has said repeatedly he is not interested in South Korean politics.

Ban has said he wants to spend time taking care of his grandchildren after his retirement.

Still, South Korea's ruling and opposition parties have a launched charm offensive toward Ban, believing that Ban could prevail in the presidential election.

Ban's second five-year term at the U.N. is set to end at the end of 2016, a year before South Koreans go to the polls to elect a new president who will replace President Park Geun-hye.

Park's single five-year term ends in early 2018, and by law, she cannot seek re-election.

Park's job approval rating edged up slightly amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's recent nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch.

The survey conducted by polling agency Korea Research Center showed 46 percent of participants approved of the job Park is doing, up 1.9 percentage points from the end of December.

Those who disapproved of Park's job performance came to 48.7 percent, compared with 49.1 percent from the same period of last year.

The survey also showed that candidates of the ruling Saenuri Party received 40.9 percent of the support for the April's parliamentary election.

Candidates of the main opposition Minjoo Party trailed behind in a distant second with 23.1 percent and candidates of the minor opposition People's Party finished third with 10.6 percent.

The telephone survey was conducted on 1,013 adults on Feb. 11-12 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

entropy@yna.co.kr
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