Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok on Monday established a grand unity task force directly under his authority as party leader and appointed lawmaker Park Beom-gye as its head.
Kim made the announcement at a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly, saying he would "build an unbreakable bridge of dialogue with the People Power Party, the main opposition, and a bridge of solidarity toward the future with reform and progressive parties."
Three sub-committees will operate under the task force: a progressive solidarity sub-committee, a Rebuilding Korea Party solidarity sub-committee, and a recruitment and expansion sub-committee. Lawmaker Jin Sung-joon will chair the progressive solidarity sub-committee, lawmaker Lee Hae-sik will chair the Rebuilding Korea Party solidarity sub-committee, and lawmakers Hwang Myeong-seon and Lee So-young will serve as co-chairs of the recruitment and expansion sub-committee.
Kim said he would soon establish a separate TF, composed primarily of outside figures, to address problems that emerged during the party leadership race — including votes held without speeches and investigations conducted without proper vetting.
In addition, Kim formed a party membership cleanup TF and named supreme council member Park Seon-won as its head. "We will form a TF to address dual party membership, ghost members and involuntary enrollment, and move quickly to produce results," Kim said.
Kim also said he had already instructed the party's secretary-general to preserve all relevant materials, including polling data. "We will begin a legal review at the party level of the recently flagged conduct of certain YouTubers suspected of obstruction of business through deception — such as polling manipulation — and violations of the Political Parties Act," he added.
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