Audit Board Examines September 19 Agreement... Opposition Says "Crossed the Line"

Controversy Over Board of Audit and Inspection's Review of Inter-Korean Military Agreement
Yoon Gun-young: "Is the Board of Audit and Inspection Peering Into State Secrets?"

Amid several government and ruling party figures mentioning the 'suspension of effectiveness' of the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement signed during the Moon Jae-in administration, the opposition party strongly opposed reports that the Board of Audit and Inspection is reviewing an audit related to the September 19 military agreement.

In particular, Yoon Gun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and known as the 'right-hand man' of former President Moon Jae-in, strongly criticized by saying, "The Board of Audit and Inspection has crossed the line."

On the 30th, Yoon said on his social media (SNS), "Is it the Board of Audit and Inspection again? It has been excessive and over the top so far, but now they say they will even stir up the inter-Korean agreement. It is unreasonable for the Board of Audit and Inspection to look into state secrets," raising his voice, adding, "Now that they have crossed the line, they cannot distinguish heaven from earth."

Yoon Geon-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is questioning at the Environment and Labor Committee's national audit held at the National Assembly on the 17th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Yoon also criticized the Board of Audit and Inspection when it sent inquiries to former President Moon regarding the West Sea public official shooting incident in the past. He pointed out, "The September 19 military agreement that the Board of Audit and Inspection is trying to investigate under the pretext of a 'public interest audit request' is an agreement between North and South Korea," and added, "Anything beyond the already disclosed agreement contents is clearly a state secret to anyone."

He continued, "If that is the case, can the comfort women negotiations of the Park Geun-hye administration be investigated just by a public interest audit request? Should the humiliating 'South Korea-US-Japan joint statement' of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration also be audited?" and criticized the Board of Audit and Inspection's attitude by saying, "Or is it that the Park Geun-hye administration is 'on our side,' and the Yoon Seok-yeol administration is 'living power,' so they cannot do it?"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, also said at the Supreme Council meeting on the same day, "I do not understand why the Yoon Seok-yeol regime is pushing to annul the September 19 military agreement at the expense of the people's lives," and pointed out, "I even suspect that the government is breaking the military agreement that prevents sudden military clashes like localized wars and is effectively allowing or expecting military clashes between the North and South."

He added, "We must take the Israel-Hamas war, which is escalating into a full-scale war, as a lesson. We must never neglect or abandon the reality where people lose their lives and suffer massive destruction," and said, "Winning without fighting is better than winning by fighting, and the best strategy is to create peace where fighting is unnecessary."

On the morning of the 10th, Shin Won-sik, Minister of National Defense, was heading to the waiting room while making a phone call after the National Defense Committee's audit of the Ministry of National Defense held at the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, was disrupted. On that day, the audit could not begin in the morning because members of the People Power Party protested and did not attend after a sign saying "Withdraw the appointment of unqualified Shin Won-sik as Minister of National Defense!" was posted on the seats of the Democratic Party of Korea members. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

The September 19 military agreement, considered one of the representative achievements of the Moon Jae-in administration, is at a crossroads under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. On the 27th, Shin Won-sik, Minister of National Defense, officially proposed suspending the effectiveness of the September 19 military agreement during a comprehensive audit at the National Assembly's National Defense Committee. The Ministry of National Defense also conveyed the necessity of terminating the military agreement to the United States, and the U.S. side reportedly agreed.

The government's push to suspend the effectiveness of the September 19 military agreement stems from the perception that North Korea is not properly adhering to it. Minister Shin emphasized, "We confirmed that North Korea violated the military agreement much more seriously than previously known," adding, "There have been over 110 violations of artillery firing within the buffer zone by North Korea, and over 3,400 violations of installing artillery barrel covers and closing gun ports."

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