SEOUL — Fortune tellers are taken seriously in South Korea. But in a country renowned for the volatility of its politics, those who claim clairvoyance in matters of money and love are being cautious about predicting the winner of this year's presidential election.A Gallup Korea poll released Monday said the former Seoul mayor, front-runner Lee Myung-bak, had the backing of half of the decided voters; other polls have his support even higher. Polls show that Lee's closest challenger is Park Geun-hye, the daughter of a former president and also a member of the conservative Grand National Party, or GNP.
Either way, it is not difficult to predict that the liberal left's decade-long grip on the presidency will end this year. The governing Uri Party is a shambles, crippled by factional fights and wounded by disillusionment with President Roh Moo-hyun, whose approval ratings have dipped below 10% in some polls.