Yeo "Board of Audit and Inspection to Push Party Resolution for Law Preventing 'Political Retaliation Audits'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] The Democratic Party of Korea announced on the 31st that it will push for an amendment to the Board of Audit and Inspection Act as a party stance, requiring the Board of Audit and Inspection to report to the National Assembly in advance and obtain approval when conducting special audits.

Jin Seong-jun, the Democratic Party's senior deputy floor leader, said this plan was introduced at a lawmaker workshop held at the National Assembly on the same day. He emphasized, "We are currently working on drafting a specific bill" and added, "We will push forward with legislative measures as a party stance to prevent targeted audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection."

Previously, the Democratic Party had raised the Moon Jae-in administration's energy transition policy (nuclear phase-out) and COVID-19 vaccine supply management as subjects for audit, and criticized the Board of Audit and Inspection's audits of former Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee as 'political audits' and 'targeted audits.'

Senior Deputy Floor Leader Jin said, "Even now, politically retaliatory investigations and audits are continuing on all fronts, and we will respond firmly to this issue," adding, "We will restrict targeted and planned audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection itself."

He further explained, "The plan is to require the Board of Audit and Inspection to report to the National Assembly in advance and obtain approval when conducting special audits, and to report audit results to the National Assembly for post-review to determine whether appropriate audits were conducted," and said, "If it becomes clear during the audit process that political neutrality has been lost or independence violated, we may include provisions in the amendment to the Board of Audit and Inspection Act to hold legal responsibility, such as filing complaints and imposing penalties."

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