The committee's high-profile lineup includes seasoned political veterans and former government officials, spanning a broad ideological spectrum from progressive to conservative, in an apparent move to project the party's inclusivity and diversity.
Yoon Yeo-joon, a veteran politician with conservative roots, was appointed co-chair of the committee along with acting party leader Park Chan-dae. Yoon, who previously supported conservative candidates such as perennial right-wing politician Lee Hoi-chang and perpetual also-ran Ahn Cheol-soo, is widely seen as a symbolic choice aimed at appealing to undecided or swing voters including moderates.
It also brings together key party members including Kim Kyoung-soo, the former South Gyeongsang Province governor who was eliminated in the DP's internal primary last week, former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, and others.
Other notable figures included are those from past administrations such as the country's first female Justice Minister Kang Kum-sil, as well as Jeong Eun-kyeong, the former head of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, who earned widespread praise for her dedicated response during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
The committee's launch was held just two days before the Supreme Court is set to deliver its ruling on Lee's alleged violation of election laws over making false statements related to a major scandal involving a land development project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province during his tenure as the city's mayor from 2010 to 2018.
The ruling comes after prosecutors appealed a high court's decision last month that overturned a lower court's sentence of a suspended prison term, clearing some of his legal risks which would have been detrimental to his chances of running in the presidential race.
In an unusual move, the top court's Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae decided to refer the case to the full bench about a month ago, expediting its deliberations for some reasons.
The court now could either uphold the case or send it back to a lower court. Otherwise, it may hand down its own ruling to conclude the case. The court has allowed the trial to be televised nationwide, citing heightened public interest.
Meanwhile, the upcoming June 3 election comes after the Constitutional Court of Korea's ruling early last month to impeach disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched martial law debacle late last year.
reporter
Im Yoon-seo, Lee Yongjae
lyseo0330@ajupress.com
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