Appearance for Investigation at the Corruption Investigation Office as a Suspect on Charges Including Abuse of Authority and Obstruction of Rights Exercise
Yoo Byung-ho, Secretary General of the Board of Audit and Inspection, who is suspected of leading a targeted audit to pressure former Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Chair Jeon Hyun-hee to resign, appeared at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) on the 9th.
Secretary General Yoo arrived at the Government Complex Gwacheon, where the CIO is located, around 9:50 a.m. on the same day as a suspect on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of rights.
Before entering the shadow interrogation room, when asked by reporters about criticism for completely refusing the CIO summons, he said, "That’s because the notification method itself by the CIO was illegal." When told there were accusations of stalling for time, he replied, "There is no such thing."
Yoo Byung-ho, Secretary General of the Board of Audit and Inspection, who is suspected of leading a targeted audit against former Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee, is answering questions from reporters in front of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Department in Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the morning of the 9th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
The CIO Special Investigation Headquarters (led by Chief Prosecutor Lee Dae-hwan) plans to investigate whether any illegal acts occurred during the process of receiving reports of misconduct against former Chair Jeon, initiating the special audit, approving the audit result report, and its disclosure.
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Cha Jeong-hyun has been assigned to the investigation. Since the prepared questionnaire to verify the allegations amounts to about 360 pages, a lengthy investigation is expected. It is known that two lawyers accompanied Secretary General Yoo.
Last year, the Board of Audit and Inspection conducted a special audit of former Chair Jeon following reports about her work attitude. In June, the related audit result report was made public. It revealed that former Chair Jeon engaged in inappropriate behavior, such as signing a petition requesting leniency for a director at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission who was disciplined for abusing employees, and that she mostly arrived at work after 9 a.m. while working at the Sejong Government Complex.
Regarding this, former Chair Jeon denied the allegations, claiming that the audit was conducted based on false reports to pressure her, who was appointed during the Moon Jae-in administration, to resign.
In December last year, while the audit was ongoing, former Board of Audit and Inspection Chair Choi Jae-hae, Secretary General Yoo, and a senior official at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission identified as whistleblower A were reported to the CIO on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of rights. After the audit results were announced, the CIO received an additional report claiming that the Board’s secretariat disclosed the report without final verification by the lead auditor, Commissioner Cho Eun-seok.
Furthermore, with additional reports filed by the Democratic Party of Korea and civic groups, a total of about 20 reports have been submitted to the CIO.
On September 6, the CIO launched a forced investigation by conducting a search and seizure of the Board of Audit and Inspection and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. They seized evidence by searching the offices of audit commissioners and Secretary General Yoo and summoned Board employees for questioning.
During this process, from October, the CIO notified Secretary General Yoo of summons five times, but he refused citing Board duties, delaying the investigation. This time, the first investigation was conducted.
The CIO plans to review the contents of Secretary General Yoo’s investigation and then decide whether to summon him again and whether there is a need to investigate former Chair Choi.
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