Constitutional Court Concludes Impeachment Hearing for Audit Board Chief... Ruling Date to Be Announced Later

The Constitutional Court announced that it would designate a future date for the ruling after concluding the first impeachment trial hearing for Choi Jaehae, Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection.

Choi Jaehae, Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, is attending the first impeachment trial hearing held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 12th. Photo by Yonhap News

On the afternoon of February 12, the Constitutional Court held the first impeachment trial hearing for Chairman Choi. On this day, Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyungbae expressed special thanks to both the impeachment committee member (Jung Chungrae, Chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee) and the respondent (Chairman Choi himself) for their cooperation in bringing the hearing to a close, and stated, "The date of the ruling will be announced separately." Previously, the Constitutional Court had held three preparatory hearings to organize the key issues and evidence.

During the approximately three-hour session, the court called Kim Taewoo, Director General of Industrial Finance Audit at the Board of Audit and Inspection (former Director of Planning at the Planning and Coordination Office), and Kim Sukdong, Director General of the Special Investigation Bureau (former First Director of the Special Investigation Bureau), as witnesses. Both were witnesses requested by the National Assembly. Kim Taewoo was first questioned by the National Assembly about whether granting the Prime Minister the right to request audits was part of implementing a policy initiative of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. He responded, "Although it was included in the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's policy agenda, it was a proposal that had been under consideration for a long time before that."

In the subsequent witness examination, Kim Sukdong was asked by the National Assembly whether the Board of Audit and Inspection had spread unverified information and requested an investigation regarding the 'West Sea civil servant shooting incident.' He replied, "The Board of Audit and Inspection made a comprehensive judgment based on the seriousness of the incident, the public interest, and the level of public concern," adding, "There was no problem with making it public, and I believe there was no flaw."

On the same day, Jung Chungrae, Chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, stated, "There are many suspicions that the respondent conducted targeted audits intended to humiliate, and exercised the Board of Audit and Inspection's authority in the direction desired by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration with improper political motives or objectives," adding, "By denying the Board of Audit and Inspection's independent status, he clearly violated the Constitution and the Board of Audit and Inspection Act." He further emphasized, "There is an urgent need to restore the independence and political neutrality of the Board of Audit and Inspection and to reestablish constitutional order," and called for the impeachment petition against the respondent to be upheld.

In his final statement, Chairman Choi said, "The grounds for the National Assembly's impeachment motion are either inconsistent with the facts or contain unilateral and distorted claims, making them difficult to accept. I cannot hide my regret that my duties have been suspended for an extended period due to the impeachment trial against the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection amid political conflict. The independence of the Board of Audit and Inspection is being seriously threatened, and it is becoming difficult to properly carry out audit duties. I earnestly request that the impeachment petition be promptly dismissed."