Public Officials Union Gyeonggi Headquarters Urges Lee Jae-myung to Halt Audit of Namyangju City Autonomous Affairs

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The public officials' union in the Gyeonggi region has urged Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province to immediately stop the audit of municipal autonomous affairs.

On the 3rd, the public officials' union in the Gyeonggi region cited Governor Lee's statement last year regarding the National Assembly's audit of Gyeonggi Province's autonomous affairs, saying, "The National Assembly does not have the authority to audit local governments," and stated that the recent audit of autonomous affairs in Namyangju City by Gyeonggi Province is unjust.

The Gyeonggi Regional Headquarters of the Korean Government Employees' Union said in a statement that day, "Gyeonggi Province conducts comprehensive audits every three years along with audits of local autonomous affairs covering over 500 items," and argued, "This places a huge burden on the cities and counties."

Earlier, Gyeonggi Province planned to conduct a comprehensive inspection of Namyangju City from the 27th of last month to the 11th of this month after a preliminary investigation from the 20th to the 26th. Additionally, it requested the submission of preliminary investigation materials for 481 items over six occasions last month. However, Namyangju City refused to submit the materials, stating, "Gyeonggi Province is deliberately repeatedly requesting materials on autonomous affairs without specifying any illegal matters." Gyeonggi Province suspended the preliminary investigation schedule for the comprehensive audit and plans to conduct a specific audit to verify illegal activities from the 4th to the 9th.

The union criticized Governor Lee by citing the Constitutional Court's ruling. The union stated, "The Constitutional Court has ruled that 'comprehensive, prior general audits or audits initiated without specifying illegal matters, or audits aimed at detecting violations of laws are all impermissible,'" emphasizing, "This means there is no authority to audit autonomous affairs during general audits such as Gyeonggi Province's comprehensive audit or joint government audits."

They added, "Last year, Governor Lee Jae-myung claimed at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee audit that 'The National Assembly does not have the authority to audit local governments' autonomous affairs,'" and said, "As someone who is well aware of the regulations and the harm caused, Governor Lee should take responsibility for his statement."

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