CIO Completes Questioning of Chairman Choi Jaehae over Alleged Targeted Audit

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) has reportedly summoned and questioned Choi Jaehae, Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, who has recently faced allegations of conducting a targeted audit against the head of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

Yonhap News Agency

On October 20, the CIO’s First Investigation Division (headed by Chief Prosecutor Na Changsoo) announced that Chairman Choi was summoned and questioned as a suspect on October 18. Choi is suspected of having conducted a targeted audit in 2022, during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, by requesting various documents from the commission under the pretext of a special audit, even though the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission was not subject to a regular audit, allegedly to force then-Chairperson Jeon Hyunhee to resign.

Starting from the end of July 2022, the Board of Audit and Inspection conducted a special audit of the commission based on a tip-off. The audit focused on allegations regarding Chairperson Jeon’s work behavior, as well as suspicions of improper intervention in the legal interpretation related to alleged preferential treatment for the son of former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae during his military service.

Subsequently, in June 2023, the Board of Audit and Inspection released an audit report stating that former Chairperson Jeon had engaged in inappropriate conduct, such as signing a petition seeking leniency for a director of the commission who was facing disciplinary action for workplace abuse, and that she reported to work after 9 a.m. on 83 out of 89 days at the Sejong Government Complex.

Former Chairperson Jeon claimed that the audit was conducted to pressure her to resign, as she had been appointed during the Moon Jae-in administration. In December 2022, she filed a complaint with the CIO against Chairman Choi and Yoo Byungho, then Secretary General of the Board of Audit and Inspection, accusing them of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights.