Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), came in first in a poll on potential presidential candidates for the 2027 race, boasting unabated support from liberal voters despite the ongoing risk stemming from various criminal allegations against him.

In a poll of 1,002 Korean adults aged 18 or above, 28 percent of respondents picked Lee as their preferred presidential candidate, followed closely by Han Dong-hoon, interim leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), at 25 percent.

The poll was commissioned by The Korea Times to gauge public sentiment ahead of the April 10 general elections and was conducted by Hankook Research on Monday and Tuesday.

The voter preference for Lee was manifested clearly among supporters of progressive and liberal opposition parties, as he was chosen by 66 percent of DPK supporters, 61 percent of the minor progressive Jinbo Party supporters and 56 percent of the National Innovation Party supporters. The National Innovation Party is led by Cho Kuk, former justice minister during the liberal Moon Jae-in administration.

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, left, the chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, visits a traditional market in Seoul's Yangcheon District, Wednesday, to support Hwang Hee, second from left, the party's candidate for the region in the April 10 general elections. Yonhap

Lee faces a series of criminal allegations for which he has been standing trial in several cases. This includes a scandal-ridden land development project in Daejang-dong, a neighborhood of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, which occurred while he was the mayor of the city from 2010 to 2018.

State prosecutors attempted to arrest the opposition leader twice — the first request was overridden in February 2023 when the DPK-controlled National Assembly voted down a motion for his arrest.

The second attempt was approved by the Assembly in September of the same year but a court denied the prosecution's request, citing a lack of direct evidence and other reasons.

At the time, Prosecutor General Lee One-seok vowed to conduct further investigations into the criminal allegations against Lee.

The PPP's Han came second in the poll with 25 percent support, garnering relatively high popularity for his short political career.

Han, a close aide to President Yoon Suk Yeol, was appointed Yoon's first justice minister in May 2022 and stepped down from the position in December 2023 after accepting the ruling party's proposal to chair its emergency leadership committee in the lead-up to the general elections.

Han Dong-hoon, second from left, interim leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), talks while sitting down for a meal with students at a cafeteria of Seowon University in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps

In the poll, 19 percent responded that they support nobody as a candidate for the next president, indicating that a large number of swing voters may have a greater impact on the next presidential election.

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, the outspoken conservative politician who ran in the 2017 presidential election, losing to former President Moon, had 4 percent support, while former Justice Minister Cho, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon each garnered 3 percent.

Lee Nak-yon, who had served as the DPK chairman, left the party amid factional disputes and formed a new party called the Saemirae Party.

Lee Joon-seok, a former PPP chairman who now heads the newly formed Reform Party, marked 1 percent support.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, with a credibility rate of 95 percent. Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission's website.