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New TV series “Bad Love” |
2007-12-15 |
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With only four days to go until the presidential election, the candidates are keeping close eyes on their support rates. The field is crowded with twelve official candidates, but only six stand out – front runner Lee Myung-bak, liberal Chung Dong-young, independent Lee Hoi-chang, ex-businessman Moon Kook-hyun, pro-labor Kwon Young-ghil, and perennial politician Rhee In-je.
As of Thursday, the Grand National Party candidate Lee Myung-bak remained unrivaled among contenders, enjoying more than double the support of his closest rival. A poll showed that 41.7% of people support former Seoul Mayor Lee, while 16.6% and 10.9% support Chung and independent Lee, respectively. Other candidates received single-digit support and some 19% were undecided.
The former mayor who also served as a business executive will likely maintain his lead in the run up to the election as nearly 74% of respondents said they will continue their support for a candidate, while almost 25% answered they may change their mind. It’s interesting to see that Lee Myung-bak’s support rose after he was found innocent of any involvement in the so-called BBK stock fraud case, even when more than half the respondents did not trust the prosecution’s investigation. Similar logic was detected in the figure that said 36% of Lee Myung-bak’s backers said they supported him even though they do not like him very much because they think he is the only one who can change the government.
This media survey of support rate is the last one of its kind, as Korea’s Election Law prohibits any opinion poll results to be conducted or released in the week leading up to the election. According to the latest survey, the voter turnout is expected to be lower than in the last election in 2002 with only 73.4% saying they will definitely vote on Wednesday.
Another hot topic of the week was a new TV drama titled “Bad Love.” This melodrama stars Korea’s most sought-after actor Kwon Sang-woo and very talented Lee Yo-won. First aired on December 3rd, “Bad Love” succeeded in drawing attention by staging some eye-catching scenes at the beginning of the series. Kissing and some bedroom scenes, not to mention the star power of two main characters, helped lure away viewers from two very popular historic dramas – “Yi San – King Jeongjo” and “The King and I.”
Kwon was been in a two-year hiatus ever since he was linked to a mob boss. The times have been difficult for Kwon, but he’s now ready to step back into the limelight and win back public support. Kwon’s drama recorded a dismal rating of just 6.1% on the day it first aired, but its exports to Japan and Taiwan have been anything but sluggish, posting export revenues of three billion won or over 3 million dollars in Japan alone. In fact, “Bad Love” and the epic fantasy “The Four Guardian Gods of the King,” starring actor Bae Yong-joon have been paving the way for a revival of the hallyu boom.
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