Reactivation of 청 Special Inspection Officer System... Ministry of Justice Reports to Transition Team "In Preparation for Budget Management"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Justice has reportedly informed the Presidential Transition Committee of its intention to prepare budgets and other arrangements in anticipation of reactivating the Blue House Special Inspection Office, which monitors corruption involving the president's family and others.

On the 1st, Cha Seung-hoon, deputy spokesperson of the Transition Committee, stated at a briefing room in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, "Through a work report, the Ministry of Justice expressed its position that the Special Inspection Team will be fully operational in the next administration, and they will prepare for budget management and related matters."

The Special Inspector is responsible for continuously monitoring misconduct by the president's spouse, relatives within the cousin degree, and senior officials at the level of chief secretary or higher in the presidential office. However, the position has been vacant since the resignation of the first Special Inspector, Lee Seok-soo, in September 2016.

According to the Transition Committee, due to the vacancy of the Special Inspector position and resignations and term expirations of the Special Inspection Team members including the Special Inspector section chief, the Special Inspection Team currently only performs administrative tasks to maintain the organization with just one support staff member.

Although the Special Inspector is an independent organization under the president, its budget is allocated within the Ministry of Justice, the department responsible under the Special Inspector Act.

The Transition Committee explained, "Since the Ministry of Justice has minimal relevance to the Special Inspector's duties, it proposed amending the Special Inspector Act to grant the Special Inspector the status of head of a central government agency under the National Finance Act."

If the law is amended in this direction, the Special Inspector will be able to allocate budgets without going through the Ministry of Justice.

The Political, Judicial, and Administrative Affairs Subcommittee of the Transition Committee is reportedly planning to select the reactivation of the Special Inspector system as one of the new government's national agenda items.

Regarding this, Deputy Spokesperson Cha said, "The work reports just concluded this week, so discussions on the national agenda have only just begun," adding, "Nothing has been decided yet."