Gyeonggi Province Audit Office Reorganized into 'Audit Committee and Provincial Residents' Rights Committee' After 61 Years

The Gyeonggi Province Audit Office will be reorganized into the Audit Committee and the Provincial Residents' Rights Committee.

The Gyeonggi Province Audit Office will be reorganized into independent collegiate administrative bodies, the ‘Audit Committee’ and the ‘Provincial Residents’ Rights Committee,’ for the first time in 61 years.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 1st that the ‘Ordinance on the Establishment and Operation of the Gyeonggi Province Audit Committee and Provincial Residents’ Rights Committee,’ which reorganizes the Audit Office, a single-headed administrative body established in January 1963, into independent collegiate administrative bodies?the Audit Committee and the Provincial Residents’ Rights Committee?recently passed the Gyeonggi Provincial Council. After a preparation period, the Audit Committee and the Provincial Residents’ Rights Committee will officially launch on September 2.

With the reorganization of the Audit Office into the Audit Committee and the Provincial Residents’ Rights Committee, various decision-making authorities will shift from the single auditor to each committee. Each committee will be composed of a total of seven members, including one chairperson.

As the Audit Office is reorganized into the Audit Committee, the existing organization will be restructured into ▲General Audit Division ▲Audit Division 1 ▲Audit Division 2 ▲Contract Review Division, among others.

Gyeonggi Province explained that this reorganization of the Audit Office was made in response to residents’ concerns about the possibility of internal and external audit interference, the independence of audits, and the democratic nature of audit results. Furthermore, it is expected that the establishment of an independent Audit Committee composed of external experts will secure independence and democracy, thereby restoring fairness and reliability in audits.

Additionally, the ‘Ombudsman,’ which was previously operated as a team-level secretariat, will be elevated to the Provincial Residents’ Rights Committee, a level 4 equivalent collegiate administrative body, to take full charge of protecting residents’ rights.

According to the ordinance, the Provincial Residents’ Rights Committee will operate a public project monitoring and evaluation system and be responsible for overseeing the contract processes of various projects funded by residents’ taxes to ensure no illegal activities occur, with residents directly observing and monitoring these processes.

Within the Provincial Residents’ Rights Committee, Gyeonggi Province will establish a dedicated organization to eradicate power harassment and workplace bullying, operating a Power Harassment Eradication Ombudsman and a Power Harassment Victim Reporting and Support Center.

Earlier, in January last year, Gyeonggi Province announced the ‘Audit 4.0 Promotion Plan,’ which included initiatives such as establishing the Audit Committee to innovate the audit system from the residents’ perspective, and submitted the related ordinance to the Provincial Council in February this year.

Choi Eun-soon, Auditor of Gyeonggi Province, stated, “With the passage of the ordinance, the audit under the 8th elected administration of Gyeonggi Province can take a step closer to the residents. We will do our best to support the Audit Committee and the Provincial Residents’ Rights Committee so that they can listen more attentively to even the smallest voices of residents at the closest point to them and create a pleasant audit innovation that further enhances trust from the residents.”