Leading presidential contender Park Geun-hye will formally declare her bid for the top office next week, an aide said Thursday.
Rep. Park of the ruling Saenuri Party is one of the strongest favorites in December's presidential election, but she has not made her ambitions official as yet.
Park will announce her bid in a ceremony at a square in western Seoul on Tuesday, said Rep. Lee Sang-il, who acts as a spokesman for her campaign office. Tuesday is when her party will begin accepting bids from contenders running in its presidential primary.
Her campaign office also set up a policy committee comprising top experts from various sectors, including former defense minister and legislator Kim Jang-soo, former top diplomat Yun Byung-se and former leading businessman Hyun Myung-kwan.
Five of the seven committee members are members of Park's private think tank.
"What is the most important job for the camp is to show former chairwoman Park's policies to the people," a camp official said of the purpose of the policy committee, referring to her former title as interim chairwoman of the ruling party.
Park demonstrated her influence and consolidated her standing as a leading presidential hopeful by taking charge of the once-beleaguered ruling party and leading it to a surprise victory in April's parliamentary elections. (Yonhap)