S. Korean opposition presidential hopefuls beat Ban Ki-moon in virtual race: poll

Two major presidential hopefuls in South Korea's biggest opposition party beat outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a simulated presidential election, a local survey showed on Thursday.

Moon Jae-in, former head of the main opposition Minjoo Party, is elected as president in a simulated showdown with Ban, who has been seen as the best hope for conservative voters, according to the survey conducted by local pollster Realmeter for two days through Dec. 16.

Lee Jae-myung, mayor of Seongnam, a city to the southeast of the capital Seoul, also won the presidency in a virtual presidential election with Ban. Lee is a runner-up to Moon among the Minjoo Party's presidential contenders.

Moon beat Ban by 46.8 percent to 35.5 percent in the simulation, while the virtual showdown between Lee and Ban was 42.3 percent to 39.0 percent.

Ban, whose two, five-year terms at the top UN post are set to end by the end of this year, has never officially declared his run for presidency in his home country, but local media outlets speculated that he already indicated his presidential ambition.

In the multilateral presidential race including Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's Party, Moon won a 31 percent support in the simulation, trailed by Ban with 23.6 percent and Ahn with 13.7 percent.

However, Ban ranked first in approval rating among presidential hopefuls as support for the opposition contenders were divided.

Support for Ban was 23.1 percent, followed by Moon with 22.2 percent and Mayor Lee with 11.9 percent. Ahn came next with 8.6 percent. Endit