The Prime Minister's Secretariat announced the launch of a task force on "government reforms based on respect for the Constitution" to investigate public officials' illegal acts related to the December 3 martial law declaration.

The task force, headed by Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination Yoon Chang-ryeol, will comprise four external advisors to guarantee fairness and objectivity and 20 officials from the Secretariat for working-level support.

The four advisors are Center for Military Human Rights Korea chief Lim Tae-hoon; Choi Jong-moon, former commissioner of Jeonbuk Provincial Police; lawyer Kim Jeong-min; and Korea National Open University Professor Yun Tae-beom.

The secretariat said the group will offer advice on the process and outcome of martial law-related probes into the military and the police, and review whether the organizational and personnel management that followed were appropriate.

The group's term runs through February 13, a date by which the office had previously stated that it would complete necessary staffing decisions.

The task force also plans to conduct its own probe and operate centers at each of the 49 central administrative agencies until December 12 to gather information that could be transferred to relevant agencies for further investigation.