Poll shows 35.9 pct will support ex-PPP leader if he forms new party

More than one-third of voters said they are willing to support ousted leader Lee Jun-seok of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) if he forms a new party, a poll showed Wednesday.

In the poll of 1,000 voters conducted by pollster Hangil Research from Saturday to Monday, 35.9 percent said they will support Lee if he forms a new party should the PPP officially expel him in an upcoming ethics committee meeting.

Some 56 percent said they will not support the new party, with those who identified themselves as PPP supporters more likely to oppose the possible plan.

The result comes a week ahead of the PPP’s ethics committee meeting against Lee. The party launched a second disciplinary process against him Sunday for making remarks hurting his own party. In the first disciplinary action in July, Lee saw his membership suspended for six months over sexual bribery allegations.

On the additional disciplinary process, 54.1 percent of the respondents criticized the party, while 37.4 percent said the party made the right decision.

Those who gave positive assessments of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s handling of state affairs were more likely to support the disciplinary process, with 69.6 percent supporting it. Among those who disapproved of Yoon, 73.8 percent said the party should not have launched the additional process.

Lee has been at odds with Yoon and mainstream PPP members close to him.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.