Choi Jae-hyung, Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, Facing 180 with '1 in 7'

Auditor General Also One of Seven on Audit Committee... Nicknamed 'One-Seventh'
Ruling Party with 180 Seats Demands "Resignation" Amidst "Auditor General's Independence" Resolve
Opposition Evaluates "This Much Because It's Choe Jae-hyung" Despite Auditor General's Reserved Conclusion

Choi Jae-hyung, Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, is seen tightly closing his eyes while responding to lawmakers' questions during the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit of the Board of Audit and Inspection held on the 15th.

The audit of Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 was made public 386 days after the legal deadline, reflecting the intense conflicts surrounding this audit. At the center of this was Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) Chairman Choi Jae-hyung.

The title of BAI Chairman is also nicknamed "one-seventh." The BAI consists of seven audit commissioners, including the chairman. In the audit committee that decides the audit results, the chairman is just one of the seven members. Just as the chairman's independence is guaranteed by the constitution, each audit commissioner also maintains individuality within the committee. Currently, the audit committee has one vacancy and is composed of six members, including three pro-government figures from President Moon Jae-in’s election campaign.

After Chairman Choi’s inauguration, his actions belied the nickname "one-seventh." He openly opposed the Moon administration’s nuclear phase-out policy, which was a key government agenda. During the audit examining the legitimacy of the early shutdown of Wolsong Unit 1, he made a remark that was widely discussed: "Can a government agenda supported by only 41% in the presidential election be said to have gained public consensus?" Although the Blue House recommended former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Oh-soo as a successor to former audit commissioner Lee Joon-ho, who retired in April, Chairman Choi did not nominate him as an audit commissioner.

The "one-seventh" also did not shy away from confrontation with the ruling party holding 180 seats. A ruling party lawmaker demanded that he "resign if he is uncomfortable with or disagrees with the president’s direction of state affairs." He also had to fight against organized resistance to the audit by government agencies. Officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the audited agency, secretly deleted large amounts of audit data. Chairman Choi lamented, "I have never seen such strong resistance to an audit."

The opposition quietly sought to use Chairman Choi’s steadfast actions as a political weapon to deal a fatal blow to the administration. Each time, Chairman Choi emphasized the BAI’s fundamental mission. At the national audit in September, regarding the controversy over external pressure related to this audit, he said, "I do not consider it persecution or pressure at all." This showed his determination not to get caught up in political strife.

There was talk in the public of him being a "second Yoon Seok-youl." It was another instance where the opposition praised a BAI chairman appointed by President Moon. The BAI stated that this audit’s results were mainly based on an "economic feasibility" evaluation and deferred judgment on the validity of the government’s early shutdown decision. However, the opposition gave a positive assessment, saying, "Without Choi Jae-hyung’s will and steadfastness, even this level of result would not have been possible."

The more Chairman Choi is drawn into political battles, the more his political capital grows. The opposition, facing a shortage of prominent figures, is paying attention to Chairman Choi as a potential presidential candidate. However, Chairman Choi has no political ambitions and firmly distances himself from any speculation about his future.