Election Commission "Accepts Board of Audit Inspection Only for 'Special Hiring Suspicion'"

The National Election Commission decided on the 9th to undergo an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) specifically regarding the 'allegations of preferential hiring of children' involving current and former executives.

No Tae-ak, Chairman of the National Election Commission, is leaving the building after a meeting held on the 9th at the Gwacheon National Election Commission. [Image source=Yonhap News]

In a press release issued that day, the Commission stated, "Because public suspicion about the preferential hiring of children of high-ranking officials is extremely high, we have decided to undergo an audit by the BAI to promptly resolve these suspicions and focus on preparing for the upcoming general election."

The Commission reversed its stance just a week after unanimously rejecting the audit on the 2nd, when it claimed that the matter was not subject to BAI inspection.

However, the Commission maintained its previous position that "it is not in accordance with the constitutional spirit, which defines the Commission as an independent constitutional institution, for an executive branch audit agency to audit the Commission's inherent duties."

It added, "It is undesirable for the dispute over the scope of the audit on the Commission to appear as a conflict between the BAI and the Commission," and stated, "To clarify this, we will file a constitutional dispute adjudication with the Constitutional Court, which holds the final authority on constitutional interpretation."

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