Suspicions of National Statistics Distortion... Board of Audit and Inspection Investigates Former Blue House Policy Chief Jang Ha-sung

Jang Ha-sung, former Chief of Policy Office at the Blue House

The Board of Audit and Inspection, which is investigating allegations of deliberate distortion of major national statistics by the Moon Jae-in administration, is reported to have summoned former Blue House Chief of Policy Jang Ha-sung for questioning.

According to ruling party officials on the 22nd, the Board of Audit and Inspection conducted a face-to-face investigation with former Chief Jang the previous day. Jang, who served as the first Chief of Policy under the Moon Jae-in administration, was a key figure in establishing major economic policies such as 'income-led growth.'

The Board of Audit and Inspection detected circumstances in which officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reported preliminary statistical figures on housing price trends, which were shared internally only within the Korea Real Estate Board before being publicly announced, to the Blue House in advance during the previous administration.

They are investigating whether there were any directives from Blue House aides, including former Chief Jang, during this process.

The Board of Audit and Inspection believes that organized prior reporting of provisional statistics occurred over several years during the Moon Jae-in administration and has been conducting investigations since the second half of last year.

They are examining whether similar prior reporting and interference occurred not only in real estate statistics but also in income and employment statistics.

Before former Chief Jang, former Chiefs of Policy Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sang-jo were also investigated. Former Statistics Chiefs Hwang Soo-kyung and Kang Shin-wook, former Senior Secretary for Jobs Hwang Deok-soon, and former Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs Hong Jang-pyo were also questioned face-to-face.

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