[Summary] "Clear Political Audit" vs "Don't Be Arrogant" Lawmakers Clash Over Nuclear Phase-Out Audit

Board of Audit and Inspection to Start Procedural Appropriateness Audit of Government Energy Policy from the 11th
"Clearly Political," "Seriously Crossing the Line," Ruling Party Criticizes
"Arrogant Remarks by President's Close Aides, Isn't This Testimony of Illegality in Moon Administration?" Opposition Responds

Im Jong-seok, Former Chief of Staff to the President / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] The ruling and opposition parties are intensifying their disputes over the Board of Audit and Inspection's (BAI) so-called 'nuclear phase-out policy' audit. This follows former Presidential Secretary Im Jong-seok's criticism of BAI Chairman Choi Jae-hyung, accusing him of 'engaging in politics,' which prompted a unified backlash from the opposition.

On the 14th, former Secretary Im criticized the BAI's audit related to the government's energy transition policy in a post on his Facebook. He stated, "Since the 11th, the BAI has begun auditing the legality of the Moon Jae-in administration's energy policy formulation process," adding, "Currently, Chairman Choi Jae-hyung is clearly engaging in politics."

He continued, "They are guaranteed their term so they can work with conviction without worrying about political pressure, but they are using their term as a shield to boldly engage in politics," and claimed, "I sense the same smell from Jeon Kwang-hoon, Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, and now Choi Jae-hyung."

This criticism from former Secretary Im is an extension of earlier criticisms from the ruling party accusing the BAI of 'crossing the line.' Previously, Yoon Geon-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated in November last year, "Auditing or investigating the early shutdown policy of Wolseong Unit 1 itself is a direct challenge to democracy," and added, "They have seriously crossed the line."

Yang Yi-won-young, also a member of the Democratic Party and an environmental activist, wrote on Facebook on the 14th, "The energy transition policy was already decided by the State Council, the highest decision-making body of the government," and pointed out, "This audit is clearly a political audit."

She further argued, "It can only be seen as a will to confront the president's governance directly," and claimed, "The People Power Party's request for a public interest audit violates political neutrality."

Joo Ho-young, Floor Leader of the People Power Party / Photo by Yonhap News

On the other hand, the opposition responded to former Secretary Im and Representative Yoon by telling them not to be arrogant.

On the 15th, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, wrote on his Facebook, "Yoon Geon-young and Im Jong-seok, who shout 'The president is the owner,' have only one year left in Moon Jae-in's presidency. The power is on the decline."

He added, "Should those who illegally manipulated the economic feasibility of Wolseong Unit 1 and destroyed more than 400 official documents from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to avoid the BAI audit not be punished? Does the president's scolding of 'Why didn't you shut it down quickly?' serve as a pardon?"

Floor leader Joo claimed, "I am only curious whether the arrogant remarks of the president's close aides, saying 'The elected power, the president entrusted by the people, can do anything,' testify to many illegal and unlawful acts secretly committed by President Moon."

Kim Geun-sik, professor at Gyeongnam National University and chairman of the People Power Party's Songpa-byeong district in Seoul, also wrote on Facebook that day, "Former Secretary Im criticized Chairman Choi, saying 'He smells like Yoon Seok-youl,'" sarcastically adding, "The Moon administration seems like a 'smelly regime.' Are they just sniffing around everywhere?"

He further criticized, "The people feel the stench of rot and fishiness from the Moon administration."

A local resident is passing by in a place overlooking Unit 1 of the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant in Yangnam-myeon, Gyeongju-si. / Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, the BAI has started an audit lasting 12 days from the 11th to examine the procedural appropriateness in the government's energy policy formulation process, auditing the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The core of this audit is to examine the appropriateness of the procedures in establishing the '3rd Basic Energy Plan' and the '8th Basic Electricity Supply and Demand Plan,' which include measures to reduce nuclear power plants.

This audit follows a public interest audit request filed in June last year by Jeong Gap-yoon, then a member of the United Future Party (the predecessor of the People Power Party). Although the Blue House Presidential Secretariat was specified as a target institution in the public interest audit request at that time, it has been excluded from the current BAI audit.