A new poll suggests that about half the country wants a power transition in the next presidential election, while 40 percent would like the ruling People Power Party to stay in power. 

In a survey of one-thousand-four adults nationwide conducted by Gallup Korea from Tuesday to Thursday, 51 percent of the respondents said they want a candidate from the opposition bloc to win the next presidential race.  

A total of 40 percent said they would prefer the People Power Party to remain the ruling party.

The ruling party was slightly ahead of the main opposition in approval ratings with 39 percent, while the main opposition party posted an approval rating of 38 percent. 

Since the previous week’s survey, the ruling party’s approval rating rose one percentage point, while the main opposition party’s fell by two percentage points.

For the next presidential candidate, the survey showed that Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung is the most popular choice, favored by 34 percent of all respondents, while labor minister Kim Moon-soo is next at 12 percent.

The survey had a confidence level of 95 percent, with a margin of error of plus or minus three-point-one percentage points.