[Fact Check] Is the Resignation of the Board of Audit and Inspection Chief Mid-Term an 'Unprecedented' Situation?

Audit Board Chairman Choi Jae-hyung Resigns Voluntarily, Blue House Calls It "Unprecedented Since the Civilian Government"
9 Audit Board Chairmen Since the Civilian Government, Political Controversy Over Former Chairman Yang Geon's Resignation

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] “Considering past precedents, voluntarily resigning mid-term during the term can be said to be unprecedented since the Civilian Government.”

This is the response from the Blue House regarding former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung’s ‘resignation.’ Former Chairman Choi, the inaugural chairman under the Moon Jae-in administration, stepped down with six months remaining in his four-year term.

Can this be seen as an unprecedented situation as the Blue House stated? The dictionary meaning of 전대미문 (jeondae-mimun) is an astonishing event never heard of before.

To verify the factual basis of the Blue House’s explanation, it is necessary to review the regulations related to the chairman’s term and confirm the chairmen appointed since the launch of the Civilian Government in February 1993.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The chairman’s term is stipulated in the Constitution. Article 98, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution states that the chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection is appointed by the President with the consent of the National Assembly, serves a four-year term, and may be reappointed only once.

The reason the Constitution specifies a four-year term for the chairman is to respect the authority and independence of the Board of Audit and Inspection, which monitors and checks the government.

In fact, over nearly 30 years since the Civilian Government, those appointed as chairman can be counted on one hand. Past administrations have strongly tended to guarantee the chairman’s term.

According to the Board of Audit and Inspection, since the launch of the Civilian Government in February 1993, nine people have been appointed as chairman: Lee Hoe-chang, Lee Si-yoon, Han Seung-heon, Lee Jong-nam, Jeon Yoon-cheol, Kim Hwang-sik, Yang Geon, Hwang Chan-hyun, and Choi Jae-hyung. Among them, four chairmen?Lee Si-yoon, Lee Jong-nam, Jeon Yoon-cheol, and Hwang Chan-hyun?completed the constitutionally guaranteed four-year term.

Former Chairman Jeon Yoon-cheol completed his four-year term as the 19th chairman and was reappointed as the 20th chairman but stepped down after the inauguration of the Lee Myung-bak administration.

Former Chairmen Lee Hoe-chang and Kim Hwang-sik resigned from their posts as chairman when they were nominated as Prime Minister under the Kim Young-sam and Lee Myung-bak administrations, respectively. Although they did not complete their four-year terms, they stepped down to take on more important roles in their respective governments.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

There are also cases like former Chairman Hwang Chan-hyun, who was appointed by the previous administration (Park Geun-hye government) and completed the full four-year term under the succeeding government (Moon Jae-in government) before stepping down. It is not common for a chairman to voluntarily resign mid-term by their own will.

Then, can former Chairman Choi’s case be considered unprecedented as the Blue House explained? Although Choi has not explicitly stated it, he is known to be preparing to run in the presidential election. It is rare to find a case where a chairman voluntarily resigns mid-term for political purposes such as running for office.

However, whether a chairman’s voluntary mid-term resignation can be considered unprecedented depends on perspective.

This is because of the case of former Chairman Yang Geon, who was appointed during the Lee Myung-bak administration. Yang began his term in March 2011 and stepped down in August 2013 after the inauguration of the Park Geun-hye administration. A Blue House official explained, “Former Chairman Yang Geon resigned mid-term due to the change to the Park Geun-hye government.”

Like former Chairman Jeon Yoon-cheol, this can be seen as a case of stepping down due to the inauguration of a new government. However, it is difficult to definitively say that Yang’s resignation was a natural replacement.

In his farewell speech on August 26, 2013, Yang said, “During my tenure, I struggled to block internal and external backflows and external winds and to raise the independence of duties to a higher level, but upon stepping down, I felt my efforts were insufficient.”

At the time, various interpretations arose in political circles regarding the meaning of ‘external winds’ Yang mentioned. Although Yang stated his resignation was a “personal decision,” analyses suggested that external pressure related to the chairman’s duties influenced his decision to step down.

If Yang’s resignation is viewed as his own choice, it can be considered another case of voluntary mid-term resignation. However, if his decision is seen as a result of external pressure, the story changes.

Considering the tenure and reasons for stepping down of past chairmen, it can be said that political motives as the background for mid-term resignation, as in former Chairman Choi’s case, are unprecedented.

However, since it is difficult to definitively determine the background of Yang’s resignation, the Blue House’s claim that a chairman’s voluntary mid-term resignation is unprecedented is judged to be “half true.”

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