Audit Committee Member Yoo Byung-ho... New Secretary General Choi Dal-young (Comprehensive)

Secretary-General Yoo as successor to Auditor Im Chan-woo
Opposition: "Inappropriate transfer during investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office"

Yoo Byung-ho, New Audit Committee Member

Yoo Byung-ho, Secretary General of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), will move to succeed Im Chan-woo, whose term ends on the 17th. Choi Dal-young, the BAI's First Deputy Secretary General, has been appointed as the new Secretary General.

The BAI announced on the 16th that Chairman Choi Jae-ha recommended the appointments of the new audit commissioner and secretary general, which were approved by the President.

The new audit commissioner Yoo was born in 1967 in Hapcheon, Gyeongnam. He graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Political Science and earned a master's degree in Public Administration from the same university. He also obtained a Master of Laws degree from Indiana University in the United States and acquired a New York State Bar license.

After passing the 38th Administrative Examination in 1994, he began his public service career in 1995 and transferred to the BAI in 1997. He has held key positions including Secretary General, Director of the Public Institution Audit Bureau, Director of the Deliberation Office, Director of the Local Administration Audit Bureau 1, Director of the Defense Audit Bureau, and Head of the IT Audit Team.

During his tenure as Director of the Public Institution Audit Bureau in 2020, Yoo led the audit of the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant. Following an audit that conflicted with the Moon Jae-in administration's nuclear phase-out policy, he was transferred to the position of Director of the Audit Research Institute, a non-audit department, which was viewed as a demotion.

He served as Secretary General of the BAI from June 2022, shortly after the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. He directed audits such as the "Inspection related to the West Sea Civilian Killing Incident" and the "Audit on the Preparation and Utilization of Major National Statistics." The BAI stated that he made efforts to break away from the traditional personnel practices that prioritized seniority and rank.

Choi Dallyoung, the new Secretary-General [Image source=Yonhap News]

The new Secretary General Choi was born in 1968. He graduated from the Police University with a degree in Law and earned a master's degree in Public Administration from Syracuse University in the United States. After passing the 35th Administrative Examination in 1991, he began his public service career in 1996 and transferred to the BAI the following year. He has held key positions including First Deputy Secretary General, Director of the Planning and Coordination Office, and Director of the Special Investigation Bureau.

As a practitioner in 2008, he designed and introduced the "Active Administration Exemption System," and while serving as head of the Active Administration Support Team in 2018, he established the "Pre-consultation System," contributing to fostering a proactive administrative culture among public officials.

While serving as Director of the Planning and Coordination Office, he led the introduction of the "High-Risk Priority Areas" system, which is credited with laying the foundation for the BAI to focus its audit capabilities on major risk factors in national society. In 2018 and 2020, he was selected as a "Role Model Senior" in leadership evaluations conducted by BAI staff.

Both the Secretary General, a vice-ministerial political position, and the audit commissioners are appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the BAI Chairman. The BAI's highest decision-making body, the Audit Committee, consists of the Chairman and six audit commissioners. Audit results conducted by the BAI Secretariat must be approved by the Audit Committee to be finalized.

The opposition parties have raised concerns that it is inappropriate for Yoo Byung-ho, the new audit commissioner, to serve in this role as he is under investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials over allegations of a targeted audit against former Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee.

In response, Chairman Choi Jae-ha stated through the spokesperson's office, "We made the decision after considering various factors. Both individuals have extensive audit experience and expertise, and are highly trusted within the organization. We judged them to be the most suitable for the roles of audit commissioner and secretary general."

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