Statistical agencies raided over Moon gov't's alleged number fudging

Politics

Published: 05 Oct. 2023, 18:51

Statistical agencies raided over Moon gov't's alleged number fudging

Reporters are spotted at the Statistics Korea’s headquarters in the Daejeon government complex on Thursday as prosecutors conducted raids on multiple agencies suspected of tampering with economic data during the Moon Jae-in administration. [NEWS1]

Prosecutors launched a full-scale probe into allegations that the Moon Jae-in administration tampered with major national statistics, including economic data such as housing prices.

The Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office on Thursday raided the Statistics Korea headquarters in Daejeon and other related offices suspected of data manipulation after the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) requested an investigation into allegations that the Moon government had tampered with economic data.

According to the prosecution, agencies related to the case were informed of the search, including Statistics Korea, the Korea Real Estate Board, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Prosecutors began the search of the offices around 9 a.m. to secure related data and work computers, which continued through the afternoon.

Last month, the state audit agency concluded a six-month investigation into the alleged manipulation and distortion of economic data during the Moon administration to support its critical financial and real estate policies. The BAI asked the prosecution to investigate 22 former government officials for alleged abuse of power, obstruction of the exercise of rights and violation of the Statistics Act.

This included all four former presidential secretaries for policy during the Moon administration — Jang Ha-sung, Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Sang-jo, and Lee Ho-seung — as well as former Land Minister Kim Hyun-mi.

In its interim report announced on Sept. 15, the BAI found that the Blue House and Land Ministry exerted undue influence on agencies responsible for statistics to tamper with official data on income, employment and housing prices after the Moon administration assumed office in May 2017.

It claimed that the Blue House and Land Ministry pressured the Korea Real Estate Board, under the Land Ministry, more than 94 times from June 2017 to November 2021 to manipulate statistical figures.

The BAI claimed that Jang, Moon's first chief policy adviser and architect of his income-led growth policy, had ordered initial reports or revisions before key statistics were compiled and announced and that his three Blue House successors continued such practices.

A group of former presidential officials and aides under the Moon government called the BAI investigation results "fabricated."

Former President Moon Jae-in was not included in this investigation.

"Government manipulation of statistics is unthinkable and should not happen," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said in a press briefing at the Sejong government complex Thursday, addressing the data tampering probe. "Whether it is good or burdensome, we must consider policies based on statistics produced objectively and fairly."

He said that the prosecution is raiding ministries, including the Finance Ministry, to secure data, adding, "The government will actively cooperate with the investigation."

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]