Board of Audit and Inspection Questions Appropriateness of Recommending Audit Commissioners to Transition Committee During Power Transfer Period

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is leaving the transition office in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, for lunch on the 25th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] On the 25th, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) expressed concerns about the proposal to appoint new audit commissioners at the end of the presidential term during the Presidential Transition Committee's (PTC) briefing, the PTC revealed.

The PTC disclosed this in a press release after the BAI briefing on the same day.

At the briefing, members of the Political, Judicial, and Administrative Affairs Subcommittee of the PTC stated, "The proposal to appoint audit commissioners during the power transition period should not become a factor that undermines the objectivity and fairness of the Audit Commission's operations."

In response, the BAI stated, "Considering the high level of political neutrality that audit commissioners must maintain, it is questionable whether exercising the right to propose appointments is appropriate in situations like the current one, where controversies or suspicions related to political neutrality may arise." They added, "It is appropriate to exercise the right to propose appointments when the current and new governments reach an agreement, based on past precedents."

Audit commissioners are appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the BAI chairman. Amid differing positions between President Moon Jae-in's side and President-elect Yoon Seok-youl's side regarding personnel matters such as audit commissioners at the end of the administration, the clear stance against forcibly pushing proposals is interpreted as a warning that such actions could compromise neutrality.

The BAI also reported to the PTC plans to enhance the neutrality and fairness of the BAI by discovering audit demands through communication with frontline sectors such as economic organizations and academic societies, and to respond promptly and transparently to audit demands from the government side.

The PTC and BAI also discussed measures to strengthen public service inspection activities following the abolition of the Civil Affairs Office. In this regard, the BAI reported on forming a dedicated team to handle corruption information in a one-stop manner, cooperation plans with related agencies to establish a government-wide corruption monitoring network, and methods to produce high-quality inspection information through data analysis systems.

Additionally, they exchanged opinions on the BAI's audits of expenditure structure reforms, continuous regulatory audits centered on regulatory demanders, and audits of digital platform construction.

Furthermore, they reviewed measures to support the public service sector to work free from audit burdens by expanding the exemption criteria from "active work processing" to "compliance with ordinary work procedures." They also exchanged views on strengthening human rights protections for audit subjects, establishing due process, and institutional measures to ensure the objectivity and fairness of the Audit Commission's operations.

The PTC stated, "We urged the BAI to refrain from repetitive audits and political audits to restore trust in audits."

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