Ruling Democratic Party (DP) chair Jung Chung-rae has apologized to President Lee Jae Myung for recommending prosecutor‑turned‑lawyer Jeon Jun-cheol to lead the special counsel team tasked with investigating allegations left unresolved after three previous probes into misconduct under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

DP senior spokesperson Park Soo-hyun told reporters Sunday that Jung apologized for causing trouble for the president due to the party's failure in personnel vetting.

Park said the party will strengthen its verification procedures to prevent a repeat of the incident, including diversifying channels for candidate recommendations and increasing transparency in the process.

The recommendation drew criticism because Jeon previously served as the attorney for former Ssangbangwool Group chair Kim Seong-tae, who gave statements unfavorable to President Lee during an investigation into allegations that he transferred about eight million U.S. dollars to North Korea between January and December 2019 in pursuit of inter-Korean projects.

On Thursday, President Lee effectively rejected the DP's recommendation by appointing judge‑turned‑lawyer Kwon Chang-young, recommended by the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, as the special counsel who will conduct a new, comprehensive probe into former President Yoon's 2024 martial law attempt and other alleged misconduct under his administration.