“No Exceptions for Public Office Corruption” … Gimhae City Announces High-Intensity Audit

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Gimhae City, Gyeongnam Province, announced a high-intensity audit for this year.

The city announced on the 1st that it has established and will implement the 2023 audit operation plan, focusing on encouraging citizen-centered proactive administration and strict measures against public service corruption.

The audit will be conducted from March targeting a total of 11 places, including three directly affiliated institutions such as health centers, the city urban development corporation, and seven eup, myeon, and dong districts including Naeoe-dong.

Following the government's recent policy to strengthen management of national subsidies for private organizations, a special audit on subsidies for private organizations is also planned.

The city plans to form a Subsidy Management Strengthening Task Force and conduct audits on the actual use of subsidies by private organizations to prevent illegal execution and eradicate budget waste factors.

Gimhae City Hall, Gyeongnam. [Photo by Gimhae City Hall]

According to the city, the scale of subsidies received by major private organizations over the past three years is about 27 billion KRW, and the city plans to focus on inspecting these subsidies intensively.

Along with this, the city will strengthen pre-consulting audits to support proactive administration, promote problem-solving in-depth audits, and expand the participation of citizen auditors in the audit process.

They will check the discipline of public officials' service, and examine the appropriateness of the results and overall processes in vulnerable areas of civil administration such as omission and passive administration.

Specific audits will also be conducted on the implementation status of permits and civil complaints, and the operation status of facilities closely related to citizen safety and daily life.

▲ On-site audits of public facilities directly related to citizens' lives ▲ Verification of subsidy-vulnerable areas such as sports, women, family, and children ▲ Surveys to check abuse of power at the city hall and affiliated institutions will also be conducted.

A city official said, “This year is an important period when major projects of the 8th elected administration officially begin,” adding, “We will establish public service discipline by creating an open audit environment focused on problem-solving and strictly punishing serious misconduct without exception.”