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When will the audit board end its political pendulum?

Published: 17 Oct. 2025, 00:00

Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hae answers questions from lawmakers during a parliamentary audit by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on October 16. [YONHAP]

Sharp divisions emerged during the National Assembly’s audit of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) on Oct. 16 over its newly created “Task Force for Operational Reform.” The BAI launched the team last month, saying it would “review internal and external criticism and correct past problems.” From the outset, however, opposition lawmakers labeled it “Season Two of deep-rooted evils,” a slogan originally used by the previous Moon Jae-in administration to describe efforts to “cleanse accumulated corruption.” The term’s revival has turned the task force into a flashpoint for partisan conflict.

The opposition accused BAI Chairman Choi Jae-hae of “trying to overturn audits he himself conducted under the previous administration.” The ruling party defended the move as “belated but necessary.” Choi countered that the aim was not to reverse audit results but to examine alleged procedural issues. Yet Yoo Byung-ho, a BAI commissioner who served as secretary general under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, argued the task force was illegal in its formation, procedures and activities. The BAI, a constitutionally independent body under the president, now finds itself in the middle of internal strife and political crossfire. Its founding purpose — to act as the eyes and ears of the public by ensuring accountability in government — has again been overshadowed by politics.

The BAI said the task force’s goal is to “review not only audits that have faced sustained criticism from the media and the National Assembly, but also the institution’s overall operations.” At its launch, new secretary general Jeong Sang-woo vowed to “identify irregularities in audits conducted under the previous government, and hold those responsible accountable.” The cases in question reportedly include probes into former anticorruption and Civil Rights Commission Chair Jeon Hyun-heui, the 2020 Yellow Sea shooting of a civil servant and alleged manipulation of national statistics — most of which concluded that senior Moon Jae-in administration officials were at fault. Such “audits of audits,” repeated after every change in government, inevitably spark accusations of political retribution, and once again put the agency’s independence to the test.

Democratic Party floor leader Kim Byung-ki said on Oct. 16 that his party would “consider transferring the BAI’s financial audit authority to the National Assembly.” The proposal aims to prevent abuse of power, but would require a constitutional amendment. Bringing the agency under parliamentary oversight has also become one of the Lee Jae Myung administration’s central constitutional reform agenda items. Whether such reform would truly secure the BAI’s independence, however, remains uncertain amid fierce partisan divisions. As long as both sides see the institution as a political tool, restoring its credibility will remain elusive.

Many still remember when, during the 2015 MERS outbreak, the BAI pressed the government over its poor response regardless of political cost. Lawmakers on both sides must now ensure that the agency can again perform that role. It is time to create safeguards that make the BAI’s motto — “Right Audits, Right Nation” — a reality rather than a slogan.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.