PPP campaign committee co-chair urges Ambassador Lee to step up efforts to ease public concerns

Na Kyung-won, right, a co-chair of the ruling People Power Party's campaign committee, answers questions from reporters in Seoul, March 22. Yonhap

A co-chair of the ruling People Power Party's (PPP) campaign committee on Friday called for Ambassador to Australia Lee Jong-sup to make more active efforts to address concerns over his controversial appointment.

Na Kyung-won, one of the five co-chairs of the committee, made the remarks, a day after Lee arrived in Korea, despite criticism of his departure while being subject to an investigation into the death of a young Marine.

His arrival came just 11 days after Lee left for Canberra to assume the job.

"I would like to see Ambassador Lee Jong-sub step up efforts to ease people's concerns," Na said in a radio interview. "I also think that the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) should actively conduct an investigation ... so the people can no longer be surrounded by unnecessary controversies."

Calls for Lee's resignation have been growing within the PPP, amid concerns the issue is starting to hurt voter sentiment ahead of the April 10 general elections, especially in the country's capital areas, considered key battlegrounds for both rival parties

According to a poll by Gallup, support for the PPP declined 3 percentage points from the previous week to 34 percent, while support for the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea rose 1 percentage point to 33 percent. (Yonhap)