"Prosecution-withdrawal special prosecutor act likely top priority for Lee, ruling party in second half of year"
"Party vows to block opposition's push to cancel trials through legislation"
The People Power Party on Monday established a special committee to counter moves to have charges against President Lee Jae Myung dropped, appointing Rep. Joo Jin-woo as its chairman.
Chief PPP spokesperson Choi Bo-yoon announced the decision at a briefing following a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly, saying the party had voted to form the "Special Committee to Block the Cancellation of President Lee Jae Myung's Trials."
Choi said the party expects President Lee and the Democratic Party of Korea to make passage of a special prosecutor act on withdrawal of prosecution charges their top legislative priority in the second half of the year. "We established the committee to inform the public about attempts to cancel the trials and to prevent related bills from being rammed through," she said.
Joo, a former prosecutor who chairs the new committee, previously led a similar body under the party's central election campaign committee during the June 3 local elections, spearheading efforts against the special prosecutor legislation at that time.
The PPP said it created the new standing committee to continue that work after the election-period body was dissolved. "Rep. Joo will continue in the same role as an extension of the committee that was active during the local election campaign," Choi said.
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