Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol overtook his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung after gaining 38 percent public support against Lee's 35.3 percent, a survey showed Wednesday.

Yoon of the conservative People Power Party added 3.1 percentage points, while Lee of the liberal Democratic Party lost 7.1 points, according to the survey of 1,014 adults conducted by Hangil Research from Saturday to Monday.

In the pollster's previous survey conducted from Dec. 25-27, Yoon trailed Lee 34.9 to 42.4 percent.

The latest result reflects changed sentiment among voters in their 20s, with Lee's support in that age group falling from 41.1 percent to 33.2 percent and Yoon's approval rising from 27.8 percent to 32.1 percent.

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the minor opposition People's Party, earned 11 percent overall, up 6 percentage points from the previous survey.

Huh Kyung-young, a minor candidate of the National Revolutionary Party, which has no representation in the National Assembly, followed at 3.2 percent, while Sim Sang-jeung of the minor progressive Justice Party earned 2.2 percent and Kim Dong-yeon of the New Wave 0.8 percent.

Around 7 percent said they had no preferred candidate, while 1 percent said they were unsure or gave no response.

In the event Yoon and Ahn decide to unify their candidacies, 36.8 percent said they would support Yoon as the unified candidate, while 29.6 percent chose Ahn.

With Yoon as the hypothetical unified candidate, Yoon beat Lee 45.2 percent to 38.8 percent, according to the poll. With Ahn as the unified candidate, Ahn also beat Lee 41.2 percent to 37.9 percent.

The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. (Yonhap)

For more information regarding the survey results go to the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission homepage.