Ministry of the Interior and Safety Supports Local Governments' COVID-19 Administration... Daegu City Audit Postponed to Next Year

Focus on Rapid Execution of Disaster Recovery Funds and Revitalization of Local Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 18th that it will intensively conduct regional pre-consultations until June to support local public officials in responding to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis.

To prevent hesitation in responding to COVID-19 due to unclear regulations and manuals, the ministry plans to promptly provide directions for work processing and support public officials to receive broad exemption from disciplinary actions if they actively carry out administrative duties based on pre-consultation opinions.

This pre-consultation will shift the audit focus from the existing detection-oriented audits to support for proactive administration, emphasizing early overcoming of COVID-19 and revitalization of the local economy.

It will resolve obstacles arising from the lack of related regulations that delay disaster response and recovery or urgent financial execution such as disaster recovery funds, support rapid administrative procedures like early ordering for new projects, and provide comprehensive consulting for large-scale projects expected to experience execution delays.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will also deploy additional personnel with expertise during the intensive pre-consultation operation period for timely on-site support, while simplifying application procedures and shortening response times.

Each city, county, and district may apply for pre-consultation with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety even without review opinions from the city or province in urgent COVID-19 related matters. The ministry plans to shorten the stipulated response period (30 days) as much as possible and notify consultation results within a week.

Meanwhile, the ministry postponed the government joint audit for Daegu Metropolitan City, originally scheduled for June, to next year. This measure considers the severe economic damage in Daegu due to COVID-19, prolonged emergency duty of public officials for infectious disease prevention, transmission blocking, and special employment stability support projects, and the need for public officials to focus on quarantine and crisis management.

Kim Young-heon, Auditor of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "In the economic crisis caused by COVID-19, the proactive role of public officials in problem-solving is crucial," adding, "We will actively support the local public sector’s capabilities to focus on COVID-19 quarantine and overcoming the local economic crisis in the audit field."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.