"Controversy Expected Over Acting Director's Recommendation Authority Upon Director's Impeachment Resolution"
Appointment of Audit Committee Member One Day Before National Assembly Vote
Prosecutor Baek Jae-myung Yonhap News
Choi Jae-hae, Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, announced that he has recommended the appointment of Baek Jae-myung, a prosecutor at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, as a successor on the 3rd, following the retirement of Cho Eun-seok, an audit commissioner who would serve as acting chairman in the event of an impeachment resolution, on January 17 next year.
The Board of Audit and Inspection explained, "Due to controversies over the exercise of the recommendation right for the acting chairman during the impeachment resolution of the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, it is expected that normal operation of the Audit Committee will be difficult for a considerable period until the Constitutional Court's impeachment decision, resulting in a vacancy of audit commissioners. Therefore, this decision was made."
The recommender of Commissioner Baek started his public service career as a prosecutor in 1997 (Judicial Examination 36th) and has held major positions such as Head of Public Security Division 1 at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Chief of Public Security Division 1 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Chief of the Western Branch of Daegu District Prosecutors' Office, and Chief of the Namyangju Branch of Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office over 27 years.
The Board of Audit and Inspection added, "Chairman Choi recommended Baek to President Yoon Seok-yeol on the same day, and the appointment was approved effective January 18 next year," and added, "Based on his extensive investigative experience, legal insight, and belief in pursuing social justice, he is expected to perform his duties as an audit commissioner strictly."
The Democratic Party of Korea plans to vote on the impeachment motion against Chairman Choi at the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 4th. If the impeachment motion is passed in the National Assembly, Chairman Choi's authority will be suspended until the Constitutional Court's decision. In this case, among the six audit commissioners, the longest-serving Commissioner Cho will serve as acting chairman.
Commissioner Cho's term expires and he retires on January 17 next year. Following him, Commissioner Kim In-hoe will serve as acting chairman, whose term lasts until December 5 next year. Commissioners Cho and Kim were appointed by former President Moon Jae-in and have voiced different opinions on the audit results of the Board of Audit and Inspection within the Audit Committee.
There is an analysis that the sudden appointment of an audit commissioner a day before the National Assembly vote was intended to block any attempt to recommend a successor as Commissioner Cho retires as acting chairman.
An official from the Board of Audit and Inspection said, "The Audit Committee meetings were effectively operated with a 3-to-3 structure, and Chairman Choi, as the meeting chair, exercised the casting vote, but this structure will be broken due to the suspension of Chairman Choi's authority," adding, "Decisions require approval from four out of six members, and with a 3-to-3 structure, there is a high possibility of rejection. The appointment of the audit commissioner was made as a countermeasure against this."
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