Concerns over 'empowerment' if the Board of Audit and Inspection passes the National Assembly's impeachment bill

Democratic Party seeks to impeach first-ever auditor

If the impeachment is passed, the office will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides.Acting in the order of the auditor who has served for a long time

Absence of Auditor General, Impact of Audit Committee Resolution Structure

[Anchor]
If the Democratic Party of Korea passes the impeachment motion against the auditor this week as planned at the National Assembly plenary session, there is a concern that the auditor's function will be neutralized.

This is because the composition of the audit committee, which decides the audit plan and the right or wrong, may change to a 3:3 structure between the ruling and opposition parties, which may not be able to decide on major matters.

I'm reporter Lee Jong-gu.

[Reporter]
In addition, the Democratic Party of Korea has frequently pressured Choi Hae-soo, the head of the Audit Office.

They only thanked the government and the ruling party in favor and overlooked the unfavorable content.

[Jeong Chung-rae / Chairman of the National Assembly Judiciary Committee (Democratic Party): I don't know if I've followed that practice so far, but as long as I'm chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I can't. I'm saying I'm going to follow the law.]

If the impeachment bill is passed under the leadership of the Democratic Party, the duties of the auditor will be suspended until the results of the impeachment trial by the Constitutional Court are released.

Then, in accordance with the Audit Office Act, the auditor who has served for a long time will act as an acting authority.

Accordingly, Cho Eun-seok, an auditor, will take over first, and Kim In-hoe will take over when Cho retires in mid-January next year due to the expiration of his term.

Both were appointed during the Moon Jae In government.

The absence of the auditor also affects the decision structure of the audit committee, which decides the audit plan and disposition.

The audit committee, which consists of seven audit committee members, including the chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, votes on the audit report with a majority vote.

If Director Choi Hae-sa is excluded, four of the remaining six people must approve to vote.

Since there are currently three people from the Yoon Suk Yeol government and three from the Moon Jae In government, it is not easy to handle the majority, which is feared to paralyze the function of the Board of Audit and Inspection.

Since the launch of the current administration, the Board of Audit and Inspection has been investigating the alleged manipulation of statistics by the Moon Jae In government, the delay in the official deployment of THAAD, and the failure to verify the withdrawal of North Korean surveillance posts.

I'm YTN Lee Jong-gu.

Edit
video: Seo Young-mi
Design: Lee Ga-eun