Board of Audit and Inspection on the Election Commission's Decision: "Justified Audit Refusal... Strict Action According to Law"

Announcement of Position Immediately After the Election Commission's Final Decision to Refuse Audit
"The Election Commission is an administrative agency related to elections and is therefore subject to audit"

On the 2nd, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) warned the Central Election Commission (CEC) for deciding to refuse the audit regarding the 'allegations of preferential hiring of children,' stating, "Acts of refusing or obstructing legitimate audit activities will be dealt with strictly regardless of status or position, according to Article 51 of the Board of Audit and Inspection Act."

On the same day, immediately after the CEC announced its final decision to refuse the audit, the BAI issued a press release reiterating that the CEC is subject to duty inspection under the 'Board of Audit and Inspection Act.' In particular, based on provisions of the Act that allow punishment for those who obstruct BAI audits, the possibility of filing a complaint against the CEC was even mentioned.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Through the materials, the BAI claimed, "The election-related management and execution tasks handled by the CEC fundamentally fall under administrative affairs, and since the CEC is an administrative agency concerning elections, it is subject to audit," adding, "We have refrained from audits so far out of respect for the independence of election management."

The BAI also stated that Article 17 of the State Public Officials Act, cited by the CEC as the reason for refusing the audit, cannot serve as grounds to exclude personnel affairs audits. The BAI explained, "This provision means that the CEC is excluded from internal personnel audits conducted by the executive branch (Ministry of Personnel Innovation)," and further clarified, "It is by no means a regulation that excludes the BAI's audit of the CEC's personnel affairs." It then presented Article 24 of the Board of Audit and Inspection Act, which designates 'the affairs of administrative agencies excluding the National Assembly, the courts, and the Constitutional Court, and the duties of public officials belonging thereto' as subjects of inspection, as the basis for the possibility of auditing the CEC's duties. This means that only three institutions?the National Assembly, the courts, and the Constitutional Court?are explicitly excluded from audit targets.

The BAI also claimed that the CEC has already been subject to BAI audits related to personnel affairs. According to the BAI, the CEC was requested to discipline employees by the BAI in 2016 and 2019 for improper handling of personnel affairs. It was also disclosed on this day that during the regular audit of the CEC conducted since the second half of last year, some duty audits related to election work were carried out. The BAI stated, "We will strictly respond to acts of refusing or obstructing legitimate audit activities regardless of status or position, in accordance with the law."