Allegations of Prior Leak in North Jeolla Governor Candidate Poll

Allegations of poll results being leaked prior to their announcement have surfaced following the release of support ratings for North Jeolla Province gubernatorial candidates in the June 1st local elections. One candidate's camp has raised issues regarding the poll's fairness, claiming the results were used for campaign purposes.

In the disputed poll, candidate Kim Kwan-young secured 47.3% support, leading candidate Lee Won-taek's 38.7% by a margin outside the error range (±3.1%p). The survey was conducted among 1,002 North Jeolla residents aged 18 and over, with an 8.8% response rate.

The Lee Won-taek election committee has issued three public inquiries demanding explanations regarding alleged collusion and prior arrangement between Kim Kwan-young's camp and the Saejeonbuk Newspaper concerning the poll, as well as clarification of the relationship between Kim's close aides and the newspaper.

In a report released on the 22nd, the Jeonbuk Citizens' Coalition for Media criticized the Saejeonbuk Newspaper's poll methodology, stating it violated basic principles by referring to a specific candidate by a lower title or omitting party names. It also criticized the poll for artificially creating a two-way race, excluding other registered preliminary candidates, thus creating an illusion of a smaller gap in support.

The representative of the Saejeonbuk Newspaper explained in a phone call with Yonhap News that he had only sent a PDF file of the poll publication page to an acquaintance and was unaware of it being posted in a group chat.