DISPUTE OVER ILLEGAL INSPECTION BY BAI

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Political confrontation is growing over the state audit agency's inspection into the 2020 death of a South Korean fisheries official killed by North Korea on the West Sea. Following dispute over the Board of Audit and Inspection's notice of questioning sent to former President Moon Jae-in, another controversy has emerged over possible legal and procedural violations in the inspection itself. This point was noted by the agency's own top decision making body. While setting up a task force in response, the BAI insists its move presents no legal problems. The main opposition Democratic Party has also vowed to take legal steps.

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The Board of Audit and Inspection began looking into the fisheries official's case on June 17. This is just one day after the Coast Guard announced there was no evidence to suggest that the late Lee Dae-jun attempted to defect to North Korea. An audit committee meeting convened six times at the BAI since the Yoon administration took office and up until the time, an inspection was launched into the fisheries official's death. However, the case was not discussed at all during the meetings. Then the latest issue was raised during a committee meeting held two months later. Some pointed out that in the case of major audit plans, the committee's approval was required under the BAI Act. One official who asked to be unnamed said the law does not stipulate what constitutes a "major audit" and so customarily, inspections have been launched into major cases without committee approval. However the official added, that does not mean the BAI chairman has the right to unilaterally make such decisions. Following the controversy, the board's chair Choe Jae-hae early last month instructed the formation of a response team to deal with the criticism. The team was to come up with response measures to prevent any disputes on the procedural aspects of the probe from occurring. The main opposition Democratic Party quickly picked up on this, saying the BAI has also acknowledged the problem. The party vowed to legally respond to the controversy after the ongoing parliamentary audit comes to an end.

[Soundbite] Jung Tae-ho(Democratic Party) : "Our party will thoroughly address alleged abuse in audit rights and also seek legal measures."

The ruling People Power Party meanwhile again urged former President Moon Jae-in to accept the questioning by the audit agency.

[Soundbite] Shin Won-sik(People Power Party) : "Moon has the duty to sincerely respond to the probe and testify. That is the courtesy and obligation he owes to the people as a former president."

The BAI clarified its stance in a press release saying the response team is not tasked to conduct a legal review but to defuse misunderstanding over the audit procedures. The agency explained that regarding audits into public officials, it is not at the mercy of the committee's approval for every single case.