Factions close to main opposition Democratic Party(DP) leader Lee Jae-myung and former President Moon Jae-in formed a committee in a joint response to the prosecution's ongoing investigations against both Lee and Moon.

The DP on Monday convened an inaugural meeting of the committee dedicated to responding to political suppression against the former administration, chaired by DP Rep. Kim Young-jin, a pro-Lee member, with pro-Moon member Rep. Kim Young-bae taking the senior panel post.

Other committee members include Reps. Kim Dong-ah and Park Kyoon-taek, who had served as legal counsel to Lee in the Seongnam development corruption trial, as well as pro-Moon Reps. Youn Kun-young and Han Byung-do.

On a KBS radio program on Monday, the senior committee member Kim said such investigation and publication of facts of suspected crime involving a former president are illegal acts that verify the need to reform the prosecution.

The launch of the committee comes as the prosecution probes an alleged connection between employment of Moon's ex-son-in-law as an airline executive and the 2018 appointment of former DP lawmaker and Eastar Jet founder Lee Sang-jik as the head of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency.