In a telephone survey of 500 adults nationwide released by pollster Hankook Research on Wednesday, 63 percent said they preferred Obama to win the U.S. presidential election, more than double the number McCain supporters (29 percent). Eight percent were undecided.

Forty-nine percent of supporters of the ruling Grand National Party preferred Obama and 45 percent preferred McCain. But most supporters (77 percent) of the main opposition Democratic Party and the Democratic Labor Party preferred Obama, and a mere 19 percent of their supporters plumbed for McCain. Fifty-two percent of respondents predicted peace prospects worldwide will improve thanks to Obama's election, while 50 percent said that the global economy will turn out similar to the present.

In a poll of people in 70 countries except the U.S. by Gallup International on Oct. 22, 30 percent of respondents chose Obama as their preferred U.S. presidential candidate, while a mere 8 percent supported McCain and a whopping 62 percent were undecided. The percentage of Koreans stating a clear preference for Obama is very high by comparison.

(englishnews@chosun.com )