Moon Jae-in's lead in presidential polls threatened by fellow DP member An Hee-jung
Gallup Korea's latest polling shows that
the support ratings for Moon Jae-in,
the former chief of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, are sliding,
while those of fellow party member An Hee-jung,
the current governor of Chungcheongnam-do Province, are on the rise.
Moon's ratings have fallen below the 30 percent range this week,
while An's ratings have jumped nearly 10 points to almost 20 percent.
Third place went to acting president and prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn.
The survey was conducted on one,seven adults from February 7th to 9th.
"Moon has been leading the polls since the beginning of the year, even though he hasn't yet officially announced he'll run."
His reaction to the rise in support for An has reportedly been positive.
The two men are from the same party, increasing the chances for a change of government in this year's presidential election
Pundits say An's approval ratings have risen thanks to support from younger voters from Chungcheong-do provinces and neutral voters.
Meanwhile, Hwang Kyo-ahn is being touted as former UN chief Ban Ki-moon's replacement to carry the torch for the conservative bloc.
So far, Hwang has denied he had any presidential ambitions and said Friday that he's only focused on stabilizing state affairs.
Still, his popularity has been on the rise and politicians have been keeping an eye on his public activities
and messages for signs he is broadening his appeal to conservative voters.