Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, affiliated with the ruling Democratic Party (DP), retained his solid lead in the latest poll of potential presidential candidates.

According to the survey conducted on 2,536 voters nationwide from Feb. 22-26 by Realmater, the Gyeonggi governor was the most favored candidate for the upcoming 2022 presidential election, receiving 23.6 percent of support.

The number marks an increase of 0.2 percentage point from the previous Realmeter survey a month ago and the highest-ever support rating Lee has garnered in polls by the polling service.

Lee was followed by DP Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, both garnering the same level of support at 15.5 percent, according to the poll results released Monday.

For Lee, it marks a growth of 1.9 percentage points from the previous month, the first rise in the presidential hopefuls' polls in 10 months, driven in part by higher approval ratings from the southeastern cities like Busan and Ulsan as well as the DP's traditional support base in the Jeolla provinces.

The results follow the recent parliamentary passage of a DP-led special bill on constructing a new airport on Gadeok Island, the largest island of Busan.

Yoon, meanwhile, saw his support rating tumble by 2.9 percentage points this month, after briefly topping several polls for presidential hopefuls late last year.

The combined approval rating that seven potential presidential candidates from the liberal side mustered in the latest poll, including the two Lees, came to 49.8 percent, while that of their seven rivals from the conservative bloc including Yoon was 39.1 percent.

The 10.7 percent margin is higher than the 9.3 percent gap registered last month in favor of the liberal bloc.

The latest poll, commissioned by local news outlet OhmyNews, has a confidence level of 95 percent, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points. (Yonhap)